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Episode details

News,14 Feb 2023,6 mins

Why millions of Brits aren't working

5 Questions On

Available for over a year

The UK's unemployment rate remains close to its lowest level since the 1970s, according to the Office for National Statistics. About 1.3 million people in the UK are classed as unemployed. That sounds great - but that's not the whole story. About a quarter of people of working-age (16-64 year olds) - which is about 10 million people - don't have jobs. Nearly nine million of them aren't called "unemployed" because they're not actively looking for work, or available to start a job. Instead these people are called "economically inactive". The main reasons for not working vary. For 5 Questions On, the BBC's Head of Stats, Robert Cuffe, digs into the numbers. Image Credit: Getty Images

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