Justin Tomlinson MP Welcomes News That The Number Of Children Living In Workless Households Is At A Record Low

Justin Tomlinson MP has welcomed new figures showing that there are 637,000 fewer children living in a workless household today than there were in 2010; including 36,985 fewer children living in workless households across the South West.

The number of children living in households with no one working is at a record low, meaning fewer children are living in families without the security of work. In the last year, the number of children living in a workless household across the country has fallen by 29,000.

Overall across Britain the number of workless households is down by 964,000 since 2010, with the proportion of workless households now at its lowest level since records began in 1996. The fall over the last year was 11,000.

In Swindon, the number of workless households has fallen by almost 5,000 since 2010. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show Swindon has fewer workless households than the national average and compared to neighbouring locations including Reading & Bristol, Swindon has a higher employment rate & fewer households where no-one is in work.

In fact of the 429 council areas & regions across the United Kingdom, Swindon sits in the top quarter for the fewest workless households.

Across the UK, the number of people in work is at an all-time record high and unemployment is falling. The number of people in work nationally has increased by 3.3 million since 2010 to 32.4 million, with the majority of the increase in employment coming in full-time, highly-skilled jobs.

Locally, there are nearly 11,000 more people in work today than there were in 2010 and both unemployment & youth unemployment have also more than halved.

Justin Tomlinson MP said: “It’s excellent to see the number of children in workless households falling – with more than 36,000 fewer across the South West and over 600,000 fewer nationally since 2010. This means more children in families in North Swindon with the security that comes with a good job and a regular pay packet. In Swindon alone, the total number workless households has fallen by almost 5,000 since 2010. This is further evidence that the Conservatives’ reforms to welfare and support for business to create more jobs, as part of our work to build a stronger economy, is working.”