{"version":"1","article":{"id":"uk-children-long-term-workless-households-2025","slug":"uk-children-long-term-workless-households-2025","language":"en","url":"https://haberpaper.com/en/news/uk-children-long-term-workless-households-2025","api_url":"https://haberpaper.com/api/v1/articles/uk-children-long-term-workless-households-2025?lang=en","title":"Share of UK children in long-term workless households rises to 10.1%","summary":"The ONS estimates that 1.31 million children, or 10.1% of all children, lived in households where all adults had been out of work for at least a year in 2025. It says the APS tables remain weighted to the previous 2021 population and should be compared carefully with newer LFS estimates.","category":"economy","region":"world","topics":[],"published_at":"2026-10-04T13:00:06+03:00","modified_at":"2026-10-04T13:00:06+03:00","publication_basis":"publication-record","event_period":"2025-12","event_period_basis":"event-or-reference-period","sources":[{"name":"UK Office for National Statistics","url":"https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peoplenotinwork/unemployment/bulletins/childrenlivinginlongtermworklesshouseholdsintheuk/2025","publishedAt":"2026-10-01","checkedAt":"2026-10-04"}],"translations":[{"language":"tr","url":"https://haberpaper.com/tr/news/uk-children-long-term-workless-households-2025","api_url":"https://haberpaper.com/api/v1/articles/uk-children-long-term-workless-households-2025?lang=tr"},{"language":"en","url":"https://haberpaper.com/en/news/uk-children-long-term-workless-households-2025","api_url":"https://haberpaper.com/api/v1/articles/uk-children-long-term-workless-households-2025?lang=en"},{"language":"ar","url":"https://haberpaper.com/ar/news/uk-children-long-term-workless-households-2025","api_url":"https://haberpaper.com/api/v1/articles/uk-children-long-term-workless-households-2025?lang=ar"},{"language":"fr","url":"https://haberpaper.com/fr/news/uk-children-long-term-workless-households-2025","api_url":"https://haberpaper.com/api/v1/articles/uk-children-long-term-workless-households-2025?lang=fr"},{"language":"es","url":"https://haberpaper.com/es/news/uk-children-long-term-workless-households-2025","api_url":"https://haberpaper.com/api/v1/articles/uk-children-long-term-workless-households-2025?lang=es"}],"data_types":["metrics"],"data":{"version":1,"blocks":[{"id":"uk-long-term-workless-children","type":"metrics","title":{"tr":"Birleşik Krallık’ta uzun süreli işsiz hanelerde yaşayan çocuklar","en":"Children in long-term workless households in the UK","ar":"الأطفال في الأسر طويلة الأمد بلا عمل في المملكة المتحدة","fr":"Enfants des ménages durablement sans emploi au Royaume-Uni","es":"Niños en hogares sin empleo prolongado en el Reino Unido"},"description":{"tr":"APS hane tablolarından yıllık çocuk düzeyi ve tüm çocuklar içindeki oran. Tablolar eski 2021 nüfus ağırlıklarını kullanır.","en":"Annual child level and share of all children from APS household tables. Tables retain the previous 2021 population weights.","ar":"المستوى السنوي للأطفال ونسبتهم من جميع الأطفال وفق جداول أسر مسح السكان السنوي، مع استمرار استخدام أوزان السكان السابقة لعام 2021.","fr":"Niveau annuel et part de tous les enfants d’après les tableaux APS ménages, qui conservent les pondérations de population antérieures de 2021.","es":"Nivel anual y proporción de todos los niños según las tablas de hogares de la APS, que conservan las ponderaciones poblacionales anteriores de 2021."},"methodology":{"tr":"Yıllık Nüfus Araştırması hane dosyalarından ağırlıklandırılmış tahminler; hanede en az bir 16–64 yaş kişi bulunmalıdır. Uzun süreli işsiz hane: tüm 16+ üyeler bir yıldan uzun süredir çalışmıyor veya hiç çalışmamış. APS tabloları 2021 nüfus ağırlıklarını kullanır; en son LFS toplamlarıyla doğrudan eşdeğer değildir.","en":"Weighted estimates from Annual Population Survey household files; a household must contain at least one person aged 16–64. Long-term workless: all members aged 16+ have been out of work for over a year or have never worked. APS tables use 2021 population weights and are not directly equivalent to latest LFS totals.","ar":"تقديرات موزونة من ملفات أسر مسح السكان السنوي، مع اشتراط وجود شخص بعمر 16–64 عاماً على الأقل. الأسرة طويلة الأمد بلا عمل تعني أن جميع الأعضاء بعمر 16 عاماً فأكثر لم يعملوا لأكثر من عام أو لم يعملوا قط. تستخدم الجداول أوزان سكان 2021 ولا تعادل مباشرة أحدث إجماليات مسح القوى العاملة.","fr":"Estimations pondérées des fichiers ménages APS ; au moins une personne doit avoir entre 16 et 64 ans. Sans emploi de longue durée signifie que tous les membres de 16 ans ou plus sont sans travail depuis plus d’un an ou n’ont jamais travaillé. Les tableaux APS utilisent les pondérations démographiques de 2021 et ne sont pas directement équivalents aux derniers totaux LFS.","es":"Estimaciones ponderadas de los archivos de hogares de la APS; el hogar debe incluir al menos una persona de 16 a 64 años. Sin empleo prolongado significa que todos los miembros de 16 años o más llevan más de un año sin trabajar o nunca han trabajado. Las tablas APS usan ponderaciones poblacionales de 2021 y no equivalen directamente a los totales más recientes de la LFS."},"sourceUrls":["https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peoplenotinwork/unemployment/bulletins/childrenlivinginlongtermworklesshouseholdsintheuk/2025"],"updatedAt":"2026-10-04T02:55:00+03:00","items":[{"label":{"tr":"Uzun süreli işsiz hanelerde yaşayan çocuklar","en":"Children in long-term workless households","ar":"الأطفال في الأسر طويلة الأمد بلا عمل","fr":"Enfants des ménages durablement sans emploi","es":"Niños en hogares sin empleo prolongado"},"value":1313076,"unit":"count","period":"2025","basis":"estimate","measure":{"id":"uk-children-long-term-workless-households-level","unitCode":"count","geography":"uk","frequency":"annual","aggregation":"stock","periodRole":"reference-period"}},{"label":{"tr":"Uzun süreli işsiz hanelerde yaşayan çocukların payı","en":"Share of children in long-term workless households","ar":"نسبة الأطفال في الأسر طويلة الأمد بلا عمل","fr":"Part des enfants des ménages durablement sans emploi","es":"Proporción de niños en hogares sin empleo prolongado"},"value":10.0866,"unit":"percent","period":"2025","basis":"estimate","measure":{"id":"uk-children-long-term-workless-households-rate","unitCode":"percent","geography":"uk","frequency":"annual","aggregation":"rate","periodRole":"reference-period"}},{"label":{"tr":"Çalışmayan hanelerdeki çocuklar içinde uzun süreli işsiz hanede yaşayanların payı","en":"Share of children in workless households who are in long-term workless households","ar":"حصة الأطفال في الأسر بلا عمل الذين يعيشون في أسر طويلة الأمد بلا عمل","fr":"Part des enfants des ménages sans emploi vivant dans des ménages durablement sans emploi","es":"Proporción de niños en hogares sin empleo que viven en hogares sin empleo prolongado"},"value":85.2,"unit":"percent","period":"2025","basis":"estimate","measure":{"id":"uk-workless-children-long-term-share","unitCode":"percent","geography":"uk","frequency":"annual","aggregation":"rate","periodRole":"reference-period"}},{"label":{"tr":"Kuzey Doğu’da çocukların uzun süreli işsiz hanelerdeki payı","en":"Share of children in long-term workless households in North East England","ar":"نسبة الأطفال في الأسر طويلة الأمد بلا عمل في شمال شرق إنجلترا","fr":"Part des enfants en ménages durablement sans emploi dans le nord-est de l’Angleterre","es":"Proporción de niños en hogares sin empleo prolongado en el noreste de Inglaterra"},"value":17,"unit":"percent","period":"2025","basis":"estimate","measure":{"id":"uk-ne-children-long-term-workless-rate","unitCode":"percent","geography":"uk","frequency":"annual","aggregation":"rate","periodRole":"reference-period"}},{"label":{"tr":"Güney Doğu’da çocukların uzun süreli işsiz hanelerdeki payı","en":"Share of children in long-term workless households in South East England","ar":"نسبة الأطفال في الأسر طويلة الأمد بلا عمل في جنوب شرق إنجلترا","fr":"Part des enfants en ménages durablement sans emploi dans le sud-est de l’Angleterre","es":"Proporción de niños en hogares sin empleo prolongado en el sureste de Inglaterra"},"value":6.1,"unit":"percent","period":"2025","basis":"estimate","measure":{"id":"uk-se-children-long-term-workless-rate","unitCode":"percent","geography":"uk","frequency":"annual","aggregation":"rate","periodRole":"reference-period"}}]}]},"data_compilations":[{"id":"uk-long-term-workless-children","creator":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://haberpaper.com/#organization","name":"Haber Paper","url":"https://haberpaper.com/"},"license":{"@type":"CreativeWork","@id":"https://haberpaper.com/en/data-terms/v1#license","name":"Haber Paper Original Data Compilation License 1.0","url":"https://haberpaper.com/en/data-terms/v1"},"rights_scope":"Haber Paper original data arrangement, labels and methodology notes only; underlying source rights and permissions remain separate.","source_license_url":null}],"data_downloads":[{"id":"uk-long-term-workless-children","formats":{"json":"https://haberpaper.com/api/v1/articles/uk-children-long-term-workless-households-2025/data/uk-long-term-workless-children?lang=en&format=json","csv":"https://haberpaper.com/api/v1/articles/uk-children-long-term-workless-households-2025/data/uk-long-term-workless-children?lang=en&format=csv"}}],"content":{"paragraphs":["The number of children living in households where all adults had been out of work for a prolonged period rose to 1.31 million in the United Kingdom in 2025. The annual estimate published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on 1 October puts this at 10.1% of children in the country, compared with 9.4% and an estimated 1.22 million in 2024. The ONS workbook gives unrounded levels of 1,313,076 children in 2025 and 1,217,469 in 2024. That is an increase of about 95,600 children and 0.7 percentage points in the rate. Among all children living in workless households, 85.2% were in long-term workless households in 2025. These are survey estimates about children and households; by themselves, they do not show why adults are not working or whether a household is in poverty.","Regional rates reveal variation behind the national figure. In the ONS regional table, the proportion of children living in long-term workless households was highest in North East England, at 17.0%. It was lowest in South East England, at 6.1%. The rate was 12.5% in the North West, 12.8% in Yorkshire and The Humber, and 12.3% in the West Midlands; London was close to the UK figure at 10.1%. These percentages describe the share of all children living in each region. Because regional child populations differ, the ranking of rates should not be read on its own as a ranking of the number of children in each region.","The longer series shows that the 2025 level, despite its rise over the past two years, remained below the rates recorded in the mid-2000s. In the ONS table, the rate was 13.3% in 2006 and 14.0% in 2010; it fell to 8.2% in 2019 and 7.9% in 2020. It rose to 8.9% in 2021, fell to 8.2% in 2023 and then increased over the following two years. The 2025 estimate is close to the 10.1% recorded in 2015, but changes in population denominators and survey measurement need to be kept in mind in comparisons across the series. The ONS does not attribute annual movements causally to a particular policy, economic shock or household condition.","The ONS term “long-term workless household” does not mean only that adults are formally registered as unemployed. For this bulletin, a household must contain at least one person aged 16 to 64. A long-term workless household is one in which all people aged 16 or over have been out of work for more than a year or have never worked. A “workless household” is a broader category in which no adult is in employment: adults may be unemployed or economically inactive. In the ONS Table B breakdown, 8.9% of children lived in long-term workless households where all household members were unemployed; 1.0% lived in mixed households with unemployed or economically inactive members; and 8.9% lived in households where all adults were economically inactive. The categories may look as if they sum to 18.8% after rounding, but these are subgroup shares among children in long-term workless households and each percentage uses all children as its denominator; they should not be added and compared with the 10.1% total. The table’s labels and classification therefore matter beyond the headline wording.","The data are compiled from household datasets in the ONS Annual Population Survey (APS). For each analysis, the ONS requires at least one household member aged 16 to 64 and counts children living in those households. As a survey sample weighted to represent the population, 1.31 million is an estimate rather than an administrative count. The bulletin classifies household adults’ work status in relation to children living in the household; it does not measure the children’s own employment status.","One important limitation concerns population weights. The ONS says the APS and APS household tables have not been reweighted to new population estimates and therefore remain weighted to the previous 2021 population totals. Those weights may be inconsistent with the totals used for the Labour Force Survey (LFS) in the latest periods. It is therefore not appropriate to treat a level in the APS table as exactly equivalent to recent LFS household or labour-market statistics. Comparisons should account for the source, definition, reference period and weighting method being used.","The ONS currently classifies APS household estimates as non-accredited “official statistics”; the bulletin also explains that some outputs derived from APS and the LFS have a transitional designation. The office reports that actions since late 2023, including returning to face-to-face interviewing, increasing respondent incentives, reinstating the sample boost, recruiting more interviewers and updating survey weights, have brought response levels closer to those seen before the pandemic. A letter to the statistical regulator on 11 August 2026 discussed the status of APS/LFS outputs and a longer-term priority for the online-first Transformed Labour Force Survey (TLFS). The ONS says it will not seek reaccreditation. This designation does not invalidate the figures, but it reinforces the need to read them alongside the definitions and weighting notes. The results estimate that around one in ten children lived in a household meeting the long-term workless definition in 2025; they do not, on their own, establish poverty, family choices or future unemployment as causes."],"key_points":[],"sections":[]},"text":"The ONS estimates that 1.31 million children, or 10.1% of all children, lived in households where all adults had been out of work for at least a year in 2025. It says the APS tables remain weighted to the previous 2021 population and should be compared carefully with newer LFS estimates.\n\nThe number of children living in households where all adults had been out of work for a prolonged period rose to 1.31 million in the United Kingdom in 2025. The annual estimate published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on 1 October puts this at 10.1% of children in the country, compared with 9.4% and an estimated 1.22 million in 2024. The ONS workbook gives unrounded levels of 1,313,076 children in 2025 and 1,217,469 in 2024. That is an increase of about 95,600 children and 0.7 percentage points in the rate. Among all children living in workless households, 85.2% were in long-term workless households in 2025. These are survey estimates about children and households; by themselves, they do not show why adults are not working or whether a household is in poverty.\n\nRegional rates reveal variation behind the national figure. In the ONS regional table, the proportion of children living in long-term workless households was highest in North East England, at 17.0%. It was lowest in South East England, at 6.1%. The rate was 12.5% in the North West, 12.8% in Yorkshire and The Humber, and 12.3% in the West Midlands; London was close to the UK figure at 10.1%. These percentages describe the share of all children living in each region. Because regional child populations differ, the ranking of rates should not be read on its own as a ranking of the number of children in each region.\n\nThe longer series shows that the 2025 level, despite its rise over the past two years, remained below the rates recorded in the mid-2000s. In the ONS table, the rate was 13.3% in 2006 and 14.0% in 2010; it fell to 8.2% in 2019 and 7.9% in 2020. It rose to 8.9% in 2021, fell to 8.2% in 2023 and then increased over the following two years. The 2025 estimate is close to the 10.1% recorded in 2015, but changes in population denominators and survey measurement need to be kept in mind in comparisons across the series. The ONS does not attribute annual movements causally to a particular policy, economic shock or household condition.\n\nThe ONS term “long-term workless household” does not mean only that adults are formally registered as unemployed. For this bulletin, a household must contain at least one person aged 16 to 64. A long-term workless household is one in which all people aged 16 or over have been out of work for more than a year or have never worked. A “workless household” is a broader category in which no adult is in employment: adults may be unemployed or economically inactive. In the ONS Table B breakdown, 8.9% of children lived in long-term workless households where all household members were unemployed; 1.0% lived in mixed households with unemployed or economically inactive members; and 8.9% lived in households where all adults were economically inactive. The categories may look as if they sum to 18.8% after rounding, but these are subgroup shares among children in long-term workless households and each percentage uses all children as its denominator; they should not be added and compared with the 10.1% total. The table’s labels and classification therefore matter beyond the headline wording.\n\nThe data are compiled from household datasets in the ONS Annual Population Survey (APS). For each analysis, the ONS requires at least one household member aged 16 to 64 and counts children living in those households. As a survey sample weighted to represent the population, 1.31 million is an estimate rather than an administrative count. The bulletin classifies household adults’ work status in relation to children living in the household; it does not measure the children’s own employment status.\n\nOne important limitation concerns population weights. The ONS says the APS and APS household tables have not been reweighted to new population estimates and therefore remain weighted to the previous 2021 population totals. Those weights may be inconsistent with the totals used for the Labour Force Survey (LFS) in the latest periods. It is therefore not appropriate to treat a level in the APS table as exactly equivalent to recent LFS household or labour-market statistics. Comparisons should account for the source, definition, reference period and weighting method being used.\n\nThe ONS currently classifies APS household estimates as non-accredited “official statistics”; the bulletin also explains that some outputs derived from APS and the LFS have a transitional designation. The office reports that actions since late 2023, including returning to face-to-face interviewing, increasing respondent incentives, reinstating the sample boost, recruiting more interviewers and updating survey weights, have brought response levels closer to those seen before the pandemic. A letter to the statistical regulator on 11 August 2026 discussed the status of APS/LFS outputs and a longer-term priority for the online-first Transformed Labour Force Survey (TLFS). The ONS says it will not seek reaccreditation. This designation does not invalidate the figures, but it reinforces the need to read them alongside the definitions and weighting notes. The results estimate that around one in ten children lived in a household meeting the long-term workless definition in 2025; they do not, on their own, establish poverty, family choices or future unemployment as causes.","corrections":[],"editorial_illustration":{"kind":"symbolic-editorial-illustration","documentary":false,"scope":"section","asset_id":"economy","url":"https://haberpaper.com/assets/illustrations/economy-1536.webp","width":1536,"height":1024,"alt":"Symbolic trading harbour with a cargo ship, containers and a bridge.","language":"en"},"section_illustration":{"kind":"symbolic-editorial-illustration","documentary":false,"scope":"section","asset_id":"economy","url":"https://haberpaper.com/assets/illustrations/economy-1536.webp","width":1536,"height":1024,"alt":"Symbolic trading harbour with a cargo ship, containers and a bridge.","language":"en"}}}