One in five Bristol households now workless, figures show

More than a fifth of households in Bristol are now workless, new figures have revealed.

Data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows the percentage of workless households in the city rose from 16.8 per cent (26,000) in 2010 to 21.8 per cent (36,000) in 2011.

Workless households are defined as those which include at least one person aged 16 to 64 and no-one in work.

Bristol has the second highest percentage of workless households in the South West after Torbay, where 22.5 per cent (9,000) households are workless.

Business Cards From Only £10.95 Delivered www.myprint-247.co.uk

myprint-247

View details

Print voucher

Our heavyweight cards have FREE UV silk coating, FREE next day delivery & VAT included. Choose from 1000's of pre-designed templates or upload your own artwork. Orders dispatched within 24hrs.

Terms: Visit our site for more products: Business Cards, Compliment Slips, Letterheads, Leaflets, Postcards, Posters & much more. All items are free next day delivery. www.myprint-247.co.uk

Contact: 01858 468192

Valid until: Wednesday, May 22 2013

It is closely followed by Plymouth (21.2 per cent or 18,000 workless households); Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (19.4 per cent or 31,000); and Somerset (17.5 per cent or 29,000).

According to the ONS data, sickness or disability and retirement were the main reasons for worklessness in 2011.

The percentage of people workless because they were sick or disabled in the South West in 2011 was 26.6 per cent, down from 27.1 in 2010.

Nearly a quarter - 24.9 per cent - of people in the South West were workless in 2011 because they were retired, down from 27.1 in 2010.

Unemployment was the main reason for worklessness for 17.2 per cent of people in the South West in 2011, up from 15.6 per cent the year previous.

The ONS figures show that across the UK, the percentage of households where no adults work was 18.8 per cent in 2011, down 0.3 percentage points from a year earlier. The percentage of households where all adults work was 53.5 per cent, up 0.5 percentage points from a year earlier.

Liverpool has the highest percentage of workless households for the fourth year in a row.

Between January and December 2011 Liverpool had the highest percentage of workless households, with 31.6 per cent being workless. This was down slightly on the previous year, when 31.9 per cent of households were workless.

Over the same period, South Teesside had the second highest percentage of workless households, up from a ranking of fourth a year earlier. Around 29.1 per cent of households in this area were workless.

Within Scotland, Glasgow City had the highest percentage of workless households and was the fourth highest across the UK. Around 28.7 per cent of households were workless in 2011, and this was the eighth consecutive year, since records began in 2004, that Glasgow, along with Liverpool, were in the top five workless areas.

The lowest percentage of workless households in the UK in 2011 were concentrated in the South of England, along with one area in the North. Oxfordshire had the lowest percentage, at eight per cent, followed by Buckinghamshire, at 9.8 per cent.

According to the ONS both these areas have commonly had low rates of workless households since records began. East Cumbria was the area with the third lowest workless households in 2011, at 10.9 per cent.