Scotland
Working-age out-of-work benefit recipients
Key points
- The number of working-age claimants of out-of-work benefits has fallen by a quarter over the last decade.
- Most of the fall has in unemployed claimants, the numbers of whom have halved over the period. In contrast, the number of sick or disabled claimants has remained broadly unchanged.
- Sick and disabled people now make up two-thirds of all working-age people in receipt of an out-of-work benefit.
- The proportion of working-age people in receipt of out-of-work benefits ranges from one in four in Glasgow to less than one in ten in Aberdeenshire.
- Almost half of all claimants of Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance have mental or behaviour disorders.
- Two-fifths of all working-age claimants of Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance are aged less than 45.
- The level of Income Support for both families with children and pensioners has gone up much faster than inflation in recent years. In contrast, that for working-age adults without children has remained constant in real terms. See the UK indicator on benefit levels.
- Scotland has more people in receipt of out-of-work benefits than in most of Great Britain but less than in either Wales or in the North East and North West of England.
Graph 1: Over time
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Graph 2: By reason
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Graph 3: By age
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Graph 4: By LA
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Map
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Graph 5: Compared to GB
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Definitions and data sources
The first graph shows the numbers of working-age people claiming one or more 'key out-of-work benefits'.
'Key out-of-work benefits' is a DWP term which covers the following benefits: Jobseeker's Allowance, Income Support, Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance and Carer's Allowance. Note that this list is slightly different from 'key benefits', which also include Disability Living Allowance.
For each year, the total is broken down by type of claimant, namely: unemployed, sick or disabled, lone parents, carers and others.
As can be seen from the first graph, the majority of claimants of key out-of-work benefits are sick or disabled. In this context, the second graph provides, for the latest year, a breakdown of recipients of Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance by reason.
The third graph shows, for the latest year, an age breakdown for those who in receipt of either Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance.
The fourth graph shows, for the latest year, how the proportion of the working-age population who are in receipt of a key out-of-work benefit varies by local authority. The map shows the same data but by data zone.
The fifth graph shows, for the latest year, how the proportion of working-age people in receipt of key out-of-work benefits in Scotland compares with the rest of Great Britain, with the data shown separately according to whether or not the individuals are sick or disabled.
The data source for all the graphs and map is the DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study. The data is for the month of February of each year. The data has been analysed to avoid double-counting of those receiving multiple benefits by matching data from individual samples. ONS population estimates have been used to calculate the proportions in the fourth graph.
Overall adequacy of the indicator: high. The data is thought to be very reliable and is based on information collected by the DWP for the administration of benefits.