The proportion of workless households has fallen to its lowest level since comparable records began, research suggests.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show 17.1% of residences with at least a single occupant aged 16-64 held no one in employment, a 0.8% drop on 2012 and the lowest percentage since 1996.
However the ONS said it was important to consider the impact of demographic change, with some workless households moving from containing at least a single person aged 16-64 to being filled with people aged 65 and over and therefore ‘not being included in the analysis’.
‘The shift in the demographics is partly down to the ageing of the post second world war baby boomers. Therefore when looking at changes in the levels between 2012 and 2013 it is important to understand that there are fewer households,’ the ONS said.
A total of 3.5m households in the UK are classed as workless, with the North East remaining the area with the highest percentage of workless households at 23%.
Only 13% of households in the South East do not hold a single employed occupant aged 16-64.
Excluding student households, there were 224,000 residences housing only people who have never worked, a 41,000 fall on 2012.
According to the ONS, 1.6m children are living in workless households in the UK.
Responding to the figures, minister for employment, Mark Hoban, said: ‘Helping people off benefits and into work is one of this government’s top priorities.
‘By reforming the welfare system to ensure that people are better off in work than on benefits, and through schemes such as the Work Programme and Youth Contract we are giving people the support they need to get a job and fulfil their aspirations of looking after themselves and their families.’