In his last speech as Prime Minister, Boris Johnson boasted that he had left "unemployment down to lows not seen" since he "was about ten years old and bouncing around on a space hopper." In fact, the number on out-of-work benefits was at a record high and the long-term sickness crisis well underway. So how could he get away with this boast?
The official unemployment measure only looks at those actively looking for work. When they stop doing do - by being categorised as long-term sick, for example - they are seen as economically inactive and not counted. A politician who lets sickness benefit rip can claim a political dividend: unemployment figures are massaged down.
While the official unemployment figure is updated every month and widely reported on, the far-greater figures for sickness benefit - and projections - are buried as a technical annex in the DWP website. We unearth them here in the 'Data Library" section of this website which will be updated.
The latest ONS data shows UK unemployment at 1.4 million (4%), updated monthly and viewable with a click. But to find the latest number on sickness benefit (3.2 million) you must download an Excel spreadsheet from a corner of the DWP website, then scroll to the right table and choose between many measures.
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