Number of children in homes without work plummets by 637,000 since 2010

More children than ever before are now living with a working adult as the number of UK households without a regular income from work falls to 1.27 million.

More children than ever before are now living with a working adult, new data from April to June shows, as the number of UK households without a regular income from work fell to 1.27 million – a record low.

As the UK employment rate rose to 75.6% in the 3 months to June, the number of households where no one earns a regular wage fell by 964,000 since 2010.

An all-time high of around 9 in 10 children now live in a home where at least one adult works, taking tens of thousands of children out of poverty as the number of children in workless households fell by 29,000 in the last year.

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Esther McVey has said:

One of the best ways to tackle poverty and give children a better chance in life, is to have a working adult in the house. It gives them a role-model to learn from and brings financial security to the home.

Since 2010 1.45 million more children now live in a household where all the adults work. 75% of children from workless families moved out of poverty when their parents entered into full-time work. Since 2010, we’ve seen 300,000 fewer children living in absolute poverty.

Getting a job means more than just a wage, it’s a way out of poverty and welfare dependency.

The government is committed to building a stronger, fairer economy that works for everyone. Since 2010 an average of 1,000 people have gained work every day, supporting people from every part of the UK and every section of society to take control of their lives and build themselves a better future.

Today’s data follows new research this month from the Resolution Foundation which found that the majority of new jobs created since 2008/2009 were taken by the poorest third of UK households.

As more households now benefit from work, there are now one million fewer people living in absolute poverty compared with 2010, including 300,000 fewer children.

The government is committed to building a stronger, fairer economy and that is why we are improving the welfare system through Universal Credit, helping people stay in work longer through the Fuller Working Lives strategy and tackling inequalities in employment as highlighted by the Race Disparity Audit.

Read the working and workless households in the UK: April to June 2018 statistics from the Office for National Statistics.

More about the statistics

The number of children in households with all adults in work has increased by 177,000 in the last year.

Since 2010 there are 1.45 million more children living in a home with all adults in work.

637,000 fewer children are living in workless households since 2010.

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Published 29 August 2018