Benefit changes 'push people to low-pay jobs'

BENEFIT reforms in recent decades have pushed more people into work, but often into part-time, low-paid jobs with little prospect of future high wages, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said.

Benefit policy should look beyond the headline employment number and promote longer-term career progression, which would in turn boost tax revenues, the think tank suggested. 

In a study of the UK benefit system, the IFS found that universal credit – the current flagship reform of meanstested benefits – appears to have helped claimants return to work more quickly.