Though the total number of people in UK employment is now higher than it was in the mid-1970s, changes in the distribution of work leave many more families with no job and no earnings. In this report, Richard Berthoud has undertaken a detailed analysis of UK trends over the past thirty years. About two million adults are in work today, who probably would not have had a job in the mid-1970s. They are mainly mothers, especially those with adequate qualifications, good health, and a working partner. On the other hand, there are another two million adults who would have had a job thirty years ago, but are now out of work. They are mainly disabled men, with poor educational qualifications, and no working partner. These two trends have combined to increase inequality between the work-rich (families with two jobs) and the work-poor (families with no job). The proportion of work-poor has doubled from 7% to 14% over thirty years. Most of them live on social security benefits and have very l
