North and south
Jobless households fall but Britain’s regional divide continues to widen
CHILDREN in the North East of England are twice as likely to live in a home with nobody in work as families in the South East, as the North-south divide widens.
The proportion of homes with no worker has fallen in recent years in every part of the country, but the pace of the improvement is substantially faster in southern areas.
Overall, the proportion of homes with no workers fell from 13pc in 2011 to 10.1pc in 2016.
The Government welcomed the numbers from the Office for National Statistics, particularly noting that the proportion of children living in homes with no working adults had fallen to a record low, from 16.6pc in 2010 to 11.4pc in 2016.
“These latest figures are further proof that the strength of the economy is benefiting every part of the country,” said Damian Hinds, the Employment Minister. “Our welfare reforms are encouraging more people into work.”
But the fall in joblessness has not been evenly spread. Hartlepool had the highest proportion of workless households from 2012-16, the ONS said, while Windsor and Maidenhead had the lowest.
The ONS published a list of the top 10 areas for joblessness from 2007-11, compared with 2012-16. A Daily Telegraph analysis of their locations indicated that the average area included in the top 10 list was 89 miles further north in 2012-16 than it was from 200711, suggesting that northern regions were falling behind southern areas. That is backed up by a study of the larger regions of the UK.
From 2011 to 2016, Northern Ireland only saw a minimal dip as the proportion of workless households moved from 14.2pc to 14.1pc.
Scotland’s improvement was also relatively limited, falling from 14.1pc to 12.5pc, a change of 11.3pc between each of those ratios. The North West of England was next with an improvement of 16.3pc in its ratio, followed by Yorkshire and the Humber with a drop of one fifth.
By contrast, in more southern regions the improvements were much stronger, as joblessness fell more quickly.
London’s families experienced the biggest change with only 8.1pc entirely jobless in 2016, down from 14.2pc in 2011, a drop of more than one third in that ratio. The South West of England was the next best performer as its ratio fell from 11.2pc to 8.4pc, a drop of one quarter. The West Midlands followed with a fall of 24.3pc in its ratio. It follows the dip in unemployment to 4.5pc, the lowest level since the Seventies.
Unemployment is not the primary cause of household joblessness, however. The primary reason is sickness and disability, given by 31.5pc of people in a workless household.
Another 16.7pc retired early, while 16.5pc are looking after their family or the home.
Unemployment is only the fourth most common factor, cited by 13.5pc of people in homes where nobody works.