The prospects for worklessness in Britain's weaker local economies

Worklessness on benefits is far wider than just ‘unemployment’. Across Britain in the wake of recession, a total of 5 million men and women of working age are out-of-work on benefits. They are also unevenly spread across the country: in the worst 100 districts outside London, which cover nearly a third of the UK population, the working age benefit claimant rate averages 18%. This paper reviews the trends in benefit numbers and in employment and shows that in Britain’s weaker local economies there was positive progress up until the recession. Looking ahead, however, a range of scenarios suggest there is little prospect that benefit claimant rates in these places will be reduced to acceptable levels by 2020.