The number of universal credit (UC) claims in payment is still below 200,000 at a time when it should be in the millions, according to the latest figures released by the DWP.{jcomments on}
The total number of claimants receiving universal credit in January 2016 was 197,043. This is up 21,000 on last month. The preceding month saw a rise of 20,00 claimants, making the last two months two of the best so far from the point of view of the DWP.
However, with around 8 million people supposed eventually to be getting UC, the current monthly increase means that it will still take around 32 years for the roll-out to be completed.
Also worrying for the DWP is the fact that the number of UC claimants who are in employment has dropped from 68,440 last month to 63,312 this month. The proportion of claimants who stay on UC for less than three months isalso falling.
When it comes to universal credit, nothing seems to be moving in the right direction.
You can download the latest universal credit statistics from this link.
