The unemployed in the UK are facing the biggest reduction in benefits in 50 years

Britain’s unemployed face another blow on Monday as the value of their social benefits is set to fall further in half a century, according to new research, according to Bloomberg.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s analysis shows that the decline comes with the real value of non-working benefits already at historically low levels, as the Treasury Department froze payments or raised them below the rate of inflation for much of the previous decade.

The findings, released today, will put further pressure on Finance Minister Risi Sunak, who has decided to exclude the working population from the recent aid package to help people struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.

The 3.1% increase in unemployment benefits that takes effect tomorrow is based on last September’s inflation. That’s well below the 7.7% range that prices are likely to rise this month – with the risk of inflation accelerating further this year.

The anti-poverty campaign group said the drop in real prices this year was the largest since 1972 and put 600,000 people at risk of poverty, a quarter of whom were children. Applicants will have to wait at least one more year for the value of the benefits to reach the prices.

Peter Matejic, deputy director of data and impact on the JRF, said it was “difficult to understand” Sunak’s decision not to increase benefits in line with inflation. He accused the government of hurting the poorest at the worst possible time.

“A decade of cutting and freezing benefits has left many people in our society increasingly desperate, struggling to afford cheap food, energy and basic hygiene products,” he said. “Without urgent action by the government, the harsh reality is that the situation could get much worse.”