More than 6,000 Hartlepool homes have no worker

Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows there were 6,400 households in the town with no working-age people in employment.

At 22.8%, however, that figure was down from 26.2% in 2019.

The data shows there were 12,700 households in the area which had all working-age occupants in employment in 2020 – 45.2% of all homes in the area.

This was down from 50.3% the year before.

Meanwhile, the proportion of mixed households – with at least one working and one workless adult – increased from 23.5% to 32% over this period.

The figures also show that there were 4,727 children living in households where no adult had a job last year​ – down from 5,174 in 2019.

Nationally, the number of households classed as “working” in 2020 was 58.4% - down from 58.8% in 2019 and the first annual fall since 2011.

The Trades Union Congress said Universal Credit support for families who have lost work is not enough to meet basic costs and called for the recent cut to be reversed.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady added: “The rise in unemployment could have been far worse. But millions of families were protected thanks to Government, business and unions working together to put in place furlough and other protections."

A Government spokesman said: “Universal Credit continues to deliver vital support for those both in and out of work and we have provided an additional £500m to help the most vulnerable with essential costs this winter.”