Proportion of Londoners aged 16-64 receiving out-of-work benefits by benefit type (2013-2025 Q2)
Last updated: December 2025
Next estimated update: March 2026
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?
The number of Londoners claiming out-of-work related benefits has increased significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2025, 15.3% of working age Londoners were out of work and on benefits - higher than at any other point in the last decade.
The rise in out-of-work benefits hasn’t been equal across the capital. Read our analysis here, which explores how the proportion of Londoners out-of-work and on benefits has increased the most in more deprived areas.
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 2025, this proportion had risen to 13.4% 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 - 15.3% for London and 15% for the rest of England.
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 and since 2022 London has had roughly the same proportion of its working-age population on out-of-work benefits as the rest of England.
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