The number of public sector workers on Universal Credit has rocketed 155 percent since the start of the pandemic, new GMB analysis shows.
Between late 2019 and the end of 2022, the number of public sector workers in receipt of Universal Credit has risen by a staggering 119,000.
GMB analysis of ONS Labour Force Survey data shows in the fourth quarter of 2019, 76,803 public sector workers were in receipt of Universal Credit.
By the fourth quarter of 2022, that number had shot up to 195,772.
The findings are revealed in a special report to GMB’s annual Congress, which takes place in Brighton today [Tuesday 6 June 2023].
Public sector workers in receipt of Universal Credit (estimated)[i]
October-December 2019 and October-December 2022
Nation / English Region |
2019 |
2022 |
Increase (n) |
Increase (%) |
North East |
7,595 |
12,032 |
4,437 |
58.4 |
North West |
7,654 |
17,586 |
9,932 |
129.8 |
Yorkshire and Humberside |
4,887 |
15,747 |
10,860 |
222.2 |
East Midlands |
4,977 |
25,838 |
20,861 |
419.1 |
West Midlands |
2,655 |
11,054 |
8,399 |
316.3 |
East of England |
11,690 |
26,252 |
14,562 |
124.6 |
London |
6,631 |
19,159 |
12,528 |
188.9 |
South East |
15,667 |
23,212 |
7,545 |
48.2 |
South West |
6,486 |
17,167 |
10,681 |
164.7 |
Wales |
2,162 |
5,772 |
3,610 |
167.0 |
Scotland |
5,295 |
13,639 |
8,344 |
157.6 |
Northern Ireland |
1,104 |
8,314 |
7,210 |
653.1 |
United Kingdom |
76,803 |
195,772 |
118,969 |
154.9 |
Rachel Harrison, GMB National Secretary, said:
“It’s a stain on the honour of our nation so many public sector staff have to rely on working benefits to get by.
“NHS staff, care workers, school staff, and the council workers who keep our towns and cities alive.
“Surely these people should be paid enough to feed their families and keep a roof over their heads without relying on Univeral Credit.
“Instead, the numbers are rocketing. It’s a disgrace.
“If the past 12 months of industrial action have taught us anything, it’s that people are refusing to take in-work poverty lying down. Yet this Government doesn’t seem to have learned its lesson.”
