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A Trades Union Congress (TUC) study has found that the gap between jobseeker's allowance (JSA) and earnings has got steadily wider since 1970 (when unemployment benefit was paid instead of JSA).
In 1970 unemployment benefit (UB) was 19 per cent of average earnings. During the 1980s recession, UB rates fell to around 17 per cent of average earnings and then to around 14 per cent of earnings in the early 1990s. Currently JSA is just 10 per cent of average earnings
The TUC has called for an increase in JSA from the present weekly rate of £64.30 to at least £75 a week, to provide more of a cushion for the newly unemployed and stimulate the economy.
According to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) figures, the UK has one of the lowest out-of-work benefit rates compared to wages in the developed world.
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