The variety of common credit score (UC) claimants has soared to eight.3 million folks – up from 7.2 million on the identical time final yr, new authorities figures present.
That may be a 1.1 million enhance within the house of a yr, and is the biggest annual rise in whole claimants since early within the COVID pandemic – the 12 months to April 2021.
UC is a cost to assist with residing prices and is obtainable for folks in work who’re on low incomes, in addition to those that are out of labor or can’t work.
There has additionally been a pointy rise within the variety of folks claiming UC who’ve “no work requirements”.
4 million folks had been on this class in October, up from 2.9 million folks a yr in the past, statistics from the Division for Work and Pensions present.
Claimants within the “no work requirements” bracket are folks in full-time training, over the state pension age, with a toddler aged beneath one, and who’re thought of to don’t have any prospect of labor – they make up 48.7% of all claimants.
Different claimants should do sure work-related actions to obtain the UC profit, comparable to attending interviews to plan for his or her return to work or be actively trying to find work.
The variety of folks within the trying to find work class stood at 1.6 million in October, and the variety of working folks on UC stood at 2.2 million final month – each unchanged year-on-year.
The federal government has beforehand stated it “inherited a broken welfare system and spiralling, unsustainable benefits bill” from the Conservatives, and is engaged on reforms together with tightening guidelines on who can declare UC.
The brand new knowledge on the large enhance in UC claimants comes on the day it was introduced that the unemployment price has risen to five% within the three months to September – the best price because the pandemic in 2020.
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They accounted for 84.3% of all UC claimants in October, up from 82.9% in October 2024 – and of those, 99.9% had been UK residents and round a 3rd (32%) had been in employment.
9.2% of claimants have EU Settled Standing within the UK, which is down from 10.4% a yr in the past.
And a couple of.6% had been individuals who had indefinite depart to stay within the UK, up from 2.2% the earlier yr.
Refugees accounted for 1.5% of UC claimants, which is unchanged from the identical level final yr.
A DWP spokesperson stated: “The variety of folks receiving common credit score has been growing as we have now invited tens of hundreds of individuals every month to maneuver from legacy advantages as they turn out to be phased out.
“We’re decided to get extra folks off welfare and into work. That’s why we’re stepping up our plan to Get Britain Working with essentially the most formidable employment reforms in a technology. This contains modernising jobcentres and offering tailor-made help via the Hook up with Work programme.
“Every eligible young person who has been on universal credit for 18 months without earning or learning will also be offered guaranteed paid work through our Youth Guarantee.”
