Proportion of Londoners aged 16-64 receiving out-of-work benefits by benefit type (2013-2024 Q3)
Last updated: February 2025
Next estimated update: May 2025
What does this indicator show?
This indicator shows the proportion of working-age Londoners out-of-work and receiving benefits.
What does it tell us?
14.4% of working-age Londoners are out-of-work and on benefits - an increase since last year (12.5%), and the highest level in the time period shown here.
The number of out-of-work benefit claimants aged 16-64 jumped in 2020 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, peaking at 13.8% in 2020.
The types of benefits claimed by those out of work has also changed in recent years, as Universal Credit has rolled out across the capital. For example, 1% of working-age Londoners were out of work and claiming Universal Credit in 2017. By 2024, this proportion had risen to 11.9% of the working-age population.
Compared to the rest of England
London now has a similar proportion of its working-age population on out-of-work benefits to the rest of England - both 14.4%. Pre-pandemic from 2013-2020, the proportion of the working-age population on out-of-work benefits was higher in the rest of England. During the pandemic, the trend was interrupted. In 2021 London had higher, and in 2022 roughly the same proportion of its working-age population on out-of-work benefits than the rest of England.
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