Children in long-term workless households highest for nearly a decade

The number of children living in long-term workless households in the UK has risen to its highest level in nearly a decade, figures suggest.

Some 1.22 million children were in households last year where no adult had worked for at least 12 months, according to estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

This is up from 1.06 million the previous year and is the highest total since 1.23 million in 2015.

The proportion of children in the UK who live in long-term workless households stood at 9.4% in 2024, up from 9.2% in 2023 and again the highest figure since 2015, when it stood at 10.1%.

The ONS defines a household as containing at least one person aged 16 to 64.

There is considerable regional variation in the data, with the proportion of children in long-term workless households in 2024 ranging from highs of 16.6% in north-east England and 12.4% in the North West to 6.8% in the South East and 6.6% in the South West.

Most regions saw a year-on-year increase in the percentage of children in long-term workless households, with only the South West and Yorkshire/Humber recording a slight fall.

In Scotland the figure is estimated at 11.3%, up year on year from 9.8%; for Wales it is 10.4%, up from 8.4%; and Northern Ireland is 11.9%, down from 12.7%.

ONS data on workless households begins in 2006 and suggests levels were higher in the late 2000s and early 2010s than in recent years.

The overall proportion of children in the UK in long-term workless households peaked at 14.0% in 2010, or 1.65 million, before falling to 10.1% by 2015 and 7.9% in 2020.

It has since resumed an upwards trend, reaching 9.4% last year.

David Finch of the Health Foundation charity said the data “paints a deeply concerning picture”, adding: “Long-term worklessness often stems from poor health, the main cause of economic inactivity, and has risen since the pandemic.

“Children growing up in workless households are at greater risk of poverty and poorer physical and mental health, which can limit their chances of future employment, creating a cycle that is difficult to break.

“The Government’s ambition to tackle economic inactivity must be led by action to prevent people leaving work in the first place.

“Government should set the conditions for employers to create healthier, more supportive workplaces that enable people with health conditions to remain and thrive in work.”

The ONS said its estimates are based on the Household Annual Population Survey and are defined as “statistics in development”, which means they are likely to contain some uncertainty and could be revised in the future.

They are also based on 2021 population totals, which are different to the estimates used for the Labour Force Survey that forms the basis for the ONS’s monthly unemployment figures.