United Kingdom
Children in workless households
Key points
- Around 1.8 million children live in workless households, down from 2.2 million a decade ago. Most of the fall took place in the late 1990s and most of it has been in children in workless couple households rather than workless lone parent households.
- In percentage terms, 16% of all children live in workless households, down from 18% a decade ago. The reduction in terms of percentages is rather less than that in terms of absolute numbers because the total population of children has been falling.
- Two-thirds of all children in workless households are now in lone parent households.
- Half of all children of lone parents live in households that are workless. This compares to only one in fifteen for children of couples.
- There is considerable variation between the different parts of the UK in the proportion of children who are in workless households. At a third of all children, the proportion of children who are in workless households in inner London is twice the UK average.
- The UK has a higher proportion of its children living in workless households than any other EU country. It is one-and-a-half times that of the EU average, one-and-a-half times that in France and Germany, and more than twice as high as that in many of the other countries.
- The UK is one of the few EU countries where the proportion of children who are in workless households is much higher than the proportion of working-age people who are in workless households.
Graph 1: Over time (numbers)
View Graph as PDF Right click to save large version of Graph as PNG
Graph 2: Over time (proportions)
View Graph as PDF Right click to save large version of Graph as PNG
Graph 3: By household type
View Graph as PDF Right click to save large version of Graph as PNG
Graph 4: By region
View Graph as PDF Right click to save large version of Graph as PNG
Graph 5: Compared to the EU
View Graph as PDF Right click to save large version of Graph as PNG
Why this indicator was originally chosen
Children's economic circumstances are essentially determined by the economic status of the adults in their household. Over the last two decades, a split has opened up between 'work rich' and 'work poor' households, with a large number of children in households where none of the adults have paid work.
Definitions and data sources
The first graph shows the number of children living in households in which none of the working-age adults is in paid work. The data is separated by household type, namely couple households, lone parent households and other households.
The second graph shows the same data as the first graph but as a proportion of all children.
The third graph shows how the proportion of children living in households in which none of the working-age adults is in paid work varies by household type. To improve its statistical reliability, the data is the average for the latest three years.
The fourth graph shows how the proportion of children living in households in which none of the working-age adults are in paid work varies by region. To improve its statistical reliability, the data is the average for the latest three years.
The data source for the first four graphs is the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the data relates to the United Kingdom. The data for each year is the average for the 2nd and 4th quarters, analysis by household type not being available for the 1st and 3rd quarters. In line with ONS methods, children comprise all those under the age of 16 (i.e. not including people aged 16 to 18 in full-time education).
The fifth graph shows the proportion of children aged 0-17 in each EU country who live in workless households. For comparison purposes, the equivalent data for 18-59 year-olds is also shown.
The data source for the fifth graph is Eurostat, which in turn draws its data from the Labour Force Surveys in each country. The data is for the year 2007. Note that there is no data available for Sweden.
Overall adequacy of the indicator: high. The LFS is a large, well-established, quarterly government survey, designed to be representative of the population as a whole.
External links
- See the HM Revenue & Customs site on tax credits and child benefit.
Relevant 2007 Public Service Agreements
Overall aim: Halve the number of children in poverty by 2010-11, on the way to eradicating child poverty by 2020.
Lead department
HM Treasury.
Official national targets
Reduce by a half the number of children living in relative low-income by 2010/11.
Other indicators of progress
Number of children in absolute low-income households.
Number of children in relative low-income households and in material deprivation.
Previous 2004 targets
Halve the number of children in relative low-income households between 1998/99 and 2010/11, on the way to eradicating child poverty by 2020, including:
- reducing the proportion of children in workless households by 5% between spring 2005 and spring 2008; and
- increasing the proportion of parents with care on Income Support and income-based Jobseeker's Allowance who receive maintenance for their children by 65% by March 2008.
As a contribution to reducing the proportion of children living in households where no-one is working by 2008:
- increase the stock of Ofsted-registered childcare by 10%;
- increase the take-up of formal childcare by lower income working families by 50%; and
- introduce by April 2005, a successful light-touch childcare approval scheme.
Relevant government policies
- National minimum wage
- Tax credits and their predecessors
- Increases in child benefit
- National childcare strategy
The numbers
Graphs 1 and 2
| Year | Millions | Percentage of all children | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In couple households | In lone parent households | In other households | In couple households | In lone parent household | In other households | |
| 1996 | 880K | 1,370K | 40K | 7.5% | 11.6% | 0.4% |
| 1997 | 790K | 1,390K | 50K | 6.6% | 11.6% | 0.4% |
| 1998 | 710K | 1,450K | 40K | 5.9% | 12.1% | 0.3% |
| 1999 | 660K | 1,420K | 50K | 5.5% | 11.8% | 0.4% |
| 2000 | 630K | 1,310K | 30K | 5.3% | 10.9% | 0.3% |
| 2001 | 590K | 1,320K | 40K | 5.0% | 11.2% | 0.3% |
| 2002 | 600K | 1,340K | 30K | 5.1% | 11.4% | 0.3% |
| 2003 | 530K | 1,320K | 40K | 4.5% | 11.3% | 0.3% |
| 2004 | 510K | 1,250K | 50K | 4.4% | 10.8% | 0.4% |
| 2005 | 540K | 1,260K | 40K | 4.7% | 11.0% | 0.4% |
| 2006 | 550K | 1,240K | 40K | 4.8% | 10.8% | 0.3% |
| 2007 | 520K | 1,250K | 30K | 4.6% | 11.1% | 0.3% |
Graph 3
| In couples households | 6% |
|---|---|
| In lone parent households | 49% |
Graph 4
| East | 12% |
|---|---|
| East Midlands | 13% |
| inner London | 34% |
| outer London | 20% |
| North East | 20% |
| North West | 18% |
| Northern Ireland | 15% |
| Scotland | 16% |
| South East | 11% |
| South West | 11% |
| Wales | 18% |
| West Midlands | 18% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 17% |
Graph 5
Figures are as shown in the graph.