No-one works in one in five households

MORE than a fifth of homes in Oldham are without work.

The Office of National Statistics says there are 14,000 (21 per cent) of households in the borough where no-one has a job.

This compares to 33,000 (48 per cent) where everyone works and 22,000 (31 per cent) where some occupants work and some don’t.

The lowest figure was recorded in 2005 when 12,000 households — 16 per cent — were workless and the highest was 2008 when 17,000 households (24 per cent) were without a job.

Debbie Abrahams, MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, said: “This is exactly why I set up the Oldham Fairness Commission which is looking specifically at how agencies across our town can work together.

“Locally it’s encouraging to see a fall from the peak of workless households and we should commend initiatives like the Council’s Get Oldham Working programme. However I believe the Government’s sanctions policy is deliberately distorting unemployment data.”