Fewer children in Wales living in long-term workless households

Nation.Cymru staff

The number of children in Wales living in households where no adult has worked for more than a year has fallen, as the UK total reached its highest level in more than a decade.

An estimated 51,000 children in Wales lived in long-term workless households in 2025, down from around 55,000 the previous year, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

That represents 9.9% of children in Wales – almost one in ten – compared with 10.4% in 2024.
Across the UK, the number rose from 1.22 million to 1.31 million, the highest total since 2014, when it stood at 1.37 million.

The UK proportion increased from 9.4% to 10.1%, putting Wales slightly below the national average.
The ONS defines long-term workless households as those containing at least one person aged 16 to 64, in which everyone aged 16 or over has been out of work for more than a year or has never worked.

Scotland and Northern Ireland also recorded falls. The proportion in Scotland dropped from 11.3% to 10.5%, while Northern Ireland’s fell from 11.9% to 10.4%.

In England, the figure rose from 9.1% to 10.0%, with increases in most regions.

North-east England had the highest proportion, at 17%, followed by Yorkshire and the Humber at 12.8%. South-east England had the lowest, at 6.1%.

The figures also show a fall in the wider number of children in Wales living in households where no adult is working, regardless of how long they have been out of employment.

That total dropped from around 67,600 in 2024 to 63,900 in 2025. The proportion fell from 12.8% to 12.4%, although it remained above the UK figure of 11.8%.

Workless households include those where adults are unemployed or economically inactive, rather than only people looking for a job.

The UK’s long-term figures remain below their peak in 2010, when 1.65 million children – 14% – lived in such households.

The proportion fell to 7.9% in 2020 before rising again in subsequent years.

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