Children in long-term workless households highest for more than a decade

By Ian Jones (Press Association)

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

Some 1.31 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 1.22 million the previous year and is the highest total since 1.37 million in 2014.

The proportion of children in the UK who live in long-term workless households stood at 10.1% in 2025, up from 9.4% in 2024.

This is the highest figure since 2015, when it also stood at 10.1%.

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

The data suggests there are large regional variations across the UK.

North-east England is estimated to have had the highest proportion of children in long-term workless households last year, at 17.0%, followed by Yorkshire & the Humber at 12.8%.

South-east England had the lowest proportion, at 6.1%, followed by the South West at 7.3%.

Most regions saw a year-on-year increase in their percentage, with only the East Midlands and the South East recording a slight fall.

In Scotland the proportion is estimated at 10.5%, down year-on-year from 11.3%; for Wales it is 9.9%, down from 10.4%, and Northern Ireland is 10.4%, down from 11.9%.

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 10.1% last year.