Press release: Number of children in workless households down over half a million since 2010

Since 2010, the number of children in workless households has fallen by 881,000. Around 9 in 10 children live in a household where at least one working age adult is in work.

The figures, released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), also show the:

• proportion of lone parents in work is 67.4%, up from 56.1% in 2010
• number of children in workless households is 1.3 million, down 598,000 since 2010 and 8,000 on the year
• number of households with at least one working adult rises by 1.2 million since 2010 and 334,000 on the year

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Esther McVey said:

Children living in workless households are 5 times more likely to be in poverty and less likely to do well in school, compared to those growing up in households where all the adults are working. That’s why it’s so important to help parents into work.

It helps the individual too – it provides a wage, personal fulfilment, a social life and a career.

With a record 3.1 million people moving into work since 2010, this government is committed to helping people into employment and supporting them on their career path.

Recent employment figures show that there are a near-record 32.14 million people in work, and the unemployment rate (4.4%) is at a near 40-year-low.

See the Working and workless households in the UK: October to December 2017 figures.

This report provides new figures for October to December 2017. ONS advise that these estimates can only be compared to the same October to December period in other years, to avoid including seasonal effects. Therefore, historical comparisons are possible, back only to October to December 2004.

However, estimates for April to June 2017, previously published by ONS and repeated in today’s release, can be compared back as far as April to June 1996, enabling the reader to measure long-term records.

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