Workless households figure falls

The proportion of children in non-working households was down

The number of households with no-one aged over 16 working has fallen slightly compared with a year ago, official statistics show.

Some 3.06 million households in the UK with working-age occupants did not have anyone in employment between April and June, down 15,000 on a year earlier.

But the Office of National Statistics (ONS) said that the figure was 43,000 higher than five years ago.

The figures come after the ONS said the official unemployment rate had risen.

Youngsters

The number of people aged between 16 and retirement age living in these non-working households was 4.29 million in the second quarter of 2008.

This was down 126,000 from the same three months last year and up 50,000 from five years ago.

Some 1.77 million children live in these households, down 40,000 from the previous year and down 104,000 from five years ago.

Of these, 1.2 million - or 68% - were in lone-parent households.