- According to their figures (from the DWP), the total number of out-of-work benefit claims in August 2023 was 5.6m, up from 5.4m in Feb 2023 (a rise of 195k).
- The only other number that we know has changed is the number of claims for those who would have been beyond pension age in 2013 (365k in Aug 2023, up from 350k in Feb 2023).
- The basic point that out-of-work benefit claims have fallen rather than risen is unchanged - at the very least with a consistent way of counting, there were 5.4m out-of-work claimants in 2013, and 5.1m (rather than 4.9m) in Aug 2023.
A quick follow-up as of Feb 2024 - the Spectator's charts (which published Fraser Nelson's original piece) have been updated (see https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/too-many-people-in-britain-arent-working/), to include August 2023 benefits data. This doesn't make much of a difference:
- According to their figures (from the DWP), the total number of out-of-work benefit claims in August 2023 was 5.6m, up from 5.4m in Feb 2023 (a rise of 195k).
- The only other number that we know has changed is the number of claims for those who would have been beyond pension age in 2013 (365k in Aug 2023, up from 350k in Feb 2023).
- The basic point that out-of-work benefit claims have fallen rather than risen is unchanged - at the very least with a consistent way of counting, there were 5.4m out-of-work claimants in 2013, and 5.1m (rather than 4.9m) in Aug 2023.