Northern Ireland
Children in workless households
Key points
- Around 60,000 children now live in workless households. Around three-quarters of them are in lone parent households.
- It appears that the number of children who live in workless households fell sharply between 2004 and 2007 but has been rising since then. The net result is that the number is still lower than that of a decade ago.
- Half of all children of lone parents live in households that are workless. This compares to only one in twenty for children of couples.
- The proportion of children who are in workless households in Northern Ireland is slightly lower than the United Kingdom average: 15% compared with 16%.
Graph 1: Over time
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Graph 2: By household type
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Graph 3: Compared to Great Britain
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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 (i.e. more complex) households.
The second 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 third graph shows how the proportion of children living in households in which none of the working-age adults are in paid work in Northern Ireland compares with the regions of Great Britain. To improve its statistical reliability, the data is the average for the latest three years.
The data source for all the graphs is the Labour Force Survey (LFS). 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).
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.