This is an HTML version of an attachment to the Freedom of Information request 'How many JSA claimants have moved into self employment in 2013/2014'.

 
 
DWP Central Freedom of Information Team
 
e-mail: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.  
gov.uk
Annex A 
Our Ref: 229/23  
0/231
 
 

30/1/15
 
 

 
Dear Trudy Baddams, 
 
Thank you for your Freedom of Information (FoI) requests received on 19th January 2015. You 
asked:  
 
How many JSA claimants have been moved into full time work 2013 /2014 (not 
including zero hour contracts which does not constitute full time work. 
 
How many JSA claimants have moved into self-employment in 2013/2014? 
 
Of the 1 million reduction in the number of unemployed, how many claimants are in full 
time jobs with full time pay?" How many of the 1 million reduction in the number of 
employed are on sanctions, work programmes, part time work or zero hour contracts"  

 
On your question regarding moves into full-time work, the data requested is not held. It is 
possible to say that over the two years 2013 and 2014,  there were 6.36 million off-flows from 
the JSA claimant count (source: www.nomisweb.co.uk). However, reliable data is not available 
on whether they moved into full-time work. This is because people who stop claiming JSA are 
not obliged to tell Jobcentre Plus their destination, and a large proportion do not do so.  
DWP has published the results of a 2011 survey of destinations. This is available online:  
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/destinations-of-jobseekers-allowance-income-
support-and-employment-and-supportallowance-leavers-2011-rr791. 
The report found that 68% of people who stopped claiming JSA had moved into paid work. Of 
the 68% who had entered paid work, 61% had moved into full-time work.  
Looking beyond the claimant count figures, the ONS labour market statistics show that the fall 
in overall unemployment reflects a rising number of people in work. Employment is up 1.75 
million since 2010, with three quarters of the rise coming from full-time work. 
The position regarding your request on claimant moves into self-employment over 2013/14 is 
the same: the data requested is not held.  Reliable data is not available because of the large 
proportion of people who do not tell Jobcentre Plus their destination. However, the 2011 
destinations survey did cover self-employment in its analysis. As already noted, it found that 
68% of people who stopped claiming JSA had moved into paid work. Of this 68%, it estimated 
that 9% had moved into self-employment. 

On your third question, your request refers to both unemployment and claimants. Given your 
reference to claimants and sanctions, I have assumed your query refers specifically to the JSA 
claimant count, as opposed to the headline ILO unemployment measure which is not directly 
dependent on benefit status1. The information requested is not held. Data is not available on 
whether former claimants are in full-time work, part-time work or on a zero hours contract 
(ZHC). Once an individual stops claiming JSA, DWP does not generally track their employment 
status. They would only appear in the department’s records if they started a new benefit claim.  
The department does not collect information on destinations or claim closures following a 
sanction. Nor has the information collected by previous destination surveys been broken down 
by whether or not someone has been sanctioned. However, if someone is sanctioned, but 
continues to sign-on and meet the other eligibility criteria for JSA, then they will continue to be 
included in the JSA figures. 
Finally, people who are on the Work Programme, and not in employment, remain in receipt of 
out-of-work benefits, subject to the standard eligibility criteria.  They will therefore still be 
captured in the claimant count figures. 
Yours sincerely,  
 
 
DWP Central FoI Team 
 
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 
Your right to complain under the Freedom of Information Act 
 
If you are not happy with this response you may request an internal review by e-mailing freedom-of-information-
xxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xxx.xx or by writing to DWP, Central FoI Team,  
Caxton House, Tothill Street, SW1H 9NA. Any review request should be submitted within two months of the date 
of this letter.  
 
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review you may apply directly to the Information 
Commissioner’s Office for a decision. Generally the Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have 
exhausted our own complaints procedure. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information 
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5AF 
www.ico.org.uk/Global/contact_us  or telephone 0303 123 1113 or 01625 545745  
                                                 
1 There are two unemployment-related measures. There is the headline ILO unemployment measure, based on international 
guidelines and produced by the independent Office for National Statistics based on their Labour Force Survey; and then there 
is the claimant count which is a measure of those claiming Jobseekers Allowance and National Insurance credits. Neither 
measure has fallen by 1 million of late. Since its most recent peak, the ILO measure has fallen 794,000, while the claimant 
count has fallen by 750,000 from its peak.