Number of homes in Britain with nobody working exceeds 3 mln

The number of households in Britain where working-age people are jobless has fallen, but still exceeds 3.1 million, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported Wednesday.

The ONS study also reveals that there are 316,000 homes where nobody of working age has ever held a job.

Statisticians compile their figures looking at homes where people of working-age, from 16 years to 64, reside.

Of the 20.7 million households in the country, the number of homes containing at least one person in work was 17.6 million, according to figures for December, 2016.

The ONS figures also show almost 15 percent of British households are occupied by working-age adults where nobody works. Around 4.2 million people live in homes where nobody works.

ONS said the number of working households increased by 107,000 or 0.6 percentage points between October and December, 2016, compared with the same period a year ago. This is the highest level for an October to December period since records began in 2004.

One reason for the growth in the number of working households in Britain has been partly driven by an increased in the number of lone parents starting jobs.

A spokesman for ONS said "The proportion of workless households has been generally falling since comparable records began, from 17.5 percent in 2004 to 14.8 percent in 2016, with the exception of the period between 2008 and 2010, when it rose due to the economic downturn."

"The number of households in which no adult has ever worked was at its highest level for an October to December period in 2011 at 390,000, and now stands at 316,000," the spokesman added. Enditem