Thu, 20 Mar 2025

Thu, 20 Mar 2025 More than a fifth of UK adults still not looking for work

Official figures come after controversial plans to cut sickness and disability benefits were announced this week.

* The UK's economic inactivity rate has fallen to 21.5%, with 9.27 million people classified as economically inactive.
* Economic inactivity has been falling since 1971, but there are still concerns about the number of people not looking for work.
* The government's plans to cut sickness and disability benefits have faced criticism from Labour, unions, and charities.
* The Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall, said the latest employment figures demonstrate "the scale of the challenge" in getting Britain working again.
* A review commissioned by the government found that 8.7 million people in the UK have a work-limiting health condition.
* The review also found that people who are out of work for less than a year are five times more likely to return to work compared to those who are out of work for longer.
* The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said its jobs figures should be treated with caution due to low response rates to its employment survey.
* Pay growth continues to outpace inflation, with wages excluding bonuses growing 5.9% in the quarter.
* Redundancies rose for the first time in a year to 124,000 in the three months to January.
* The Bank of England watches the pay and jobs data closely when making decisions on interest rates.
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