Universal credit claimants hit record high of eight million people

The number of people claiming universal credit (UC) across the UK has hit a record high of eight million.

Claimants jumped by more than a million in a year – from 6.9 million people in July last year.

The latest figure of 8.0 million for July 2025 is the highest level it has been since UC was introduced in 2013, according to official figures published on Tuesday.

Living costs

UC is a payment to help with living costs and is available for people in work who are on low incomes, as well as those who are out of work or cannot work.

The steep rise in the past year has been driven almost entirely by people who are not required to work, with 3.7 million in this category in July – a rise of 39% or 1 million since the same time in 2024.

People in this bracket can include those in full-time education, over the state pension age, someone with a child aged under one, and those considered to have no prospect of work.

The Labour Government has previously said it “inherited a broken welfare system and spiralling, unsustainable benefits bill” from the Conservatives, and is working on reforms including tightening rules on who can claim UC.

The number of working people on UC rose to 2.2 million in July, up slightly from 2.1 million 12 months previously.