Interactive map reveals how many out-of-work people in YOUR area have zero intention of getting a job – as 7M Brits are deemed ‘economically inactive’

• 100 per cent of jobless people in 15 council areas have no interest in jobhunting 

More than seven million people in Great Britain have no interest in finding a job, MailOnline can reveal. 

Figures collated from official statistics show that 17.5 per cent of the working age (16-64) population in England, Wales and Scotland is uninterested in finding a job.

Officially, there are 8.7 million people designated as ‘economically inactive’ by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) – meaning they have not looked for a job for four weeks or are unable to start working for at least a fortnight.

The problem can be so extreme that 100 per cent of out-of-work people in some areas of the country are considered to be disengaged from looking for work altogether – despite almost a million job vacancies being advertised nationwide.

Our interactive map shows that 15 local authorities across Britain have an economically inactive working-age population with no-one that intends to find a job.

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Around 7.1 million people who are economically inactive do not want a job, according to official figures (stock image)

Among the areas with thousands of people aged 16-64 who do not want to work are Ashford in Kent, the Derbyshire Dales, North Devon, Stevenage and Oxford.

Folkstone and Hythe, Rochford, Lincoln, Selby, Bolsover, Cannock Chase, Dartford, the Orkney Islands and Torridge are also home to thousands working age locals who have not been looking for a job for four weeks – and don’t want to, either.

It comes as the government plots an overhaul of the welfare system in order to reduce the number of people out of work and bring down costs. 

The number of people on Universal Credit surged during the coronavirus pandemic – at present, an estimated 2.4 million people on the benefit are signed off sick with no requirement to find a job.

The rise has been driven by people switching from older benefits onto the new-style system – and by a rise in long-term sickness, which the government says should not be an obstacle to finding work.

Under the Work Capability Assessment, which is used to determine if people can receive additional benefits payments because of long-term sickness, eligible claimants can receive £390 a month (£4,681 per year) in extra payments.

But the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, unveiled plans to revamp the assessment shortly before last month’s Autumn Statement – meaning thousands of people with long-term health problems will be told to look for work they can do from home.

Among the changes proposed is a plan to drop the requirement to be able to walk 50 metres unaided – because the rise in home working means people who cannot do this can still seek employment.

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Matlock, in the Derbyshire Dales area. The local authority area has thousands of economically inactive people – 100 per cent of whom say they do not want to find work

Oxford also has thousands of economically inactive locals – 22.6 per cent of the working-age population – none of whom have expressed a desire to find a job

The ‘Chance To Work Guarantee’, as it has been branded, will come into effect in 2025 and will affect around 370,000 people by 2028/29. 

Detailing the plans on November 22, Mr Hunt said it was ‘wrong economically and wrong morally’ to sign people onto benefits with no requirement to look for work. 

The Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank estimates that overhauling the system would save the government £900million a year; the Treasury says it will save up to £1.2billion a year by 2028-29.

But critics say that the changes do not fully consider the additional supports that disabled people may need in order to work at their best.

Anastasia Berry, policy manager at the MS Society, said the ‘cynical attack’ on benefits will have a ‘devastating’ effect on those with multiple sclerosis.

She claimed that only one in 10 jobs advertised offered the option of home working – reducing the pool of jobs that people with disabilities may be able to apply for.

Ms Berry added: ‘This approach will have dire consequences for disabled people, including those with MS – a condition which can be debilitating, exhausting and unpredictable, and will only progress over time. 

‘The Government can, and must, do better by disabled people by scrapping these damaging changes.’

James Taylor, director of strategy at charity Scope, told The Times: ‘I think around 20 to 30 per cent of (disabled people) would like a job but the support you need to give them is quite different to someone who’s perhaps a bit more work-ready.’

Debra Baxter, a 58-year-old woman with cerebral palsy who uses a wheelchair,says she has experienced discrimination while working.

She told the paper: ‘When (managers) are non-disabled they have the attitude of: “We know best, you will do what we say”.’

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