FOI reference: FOI-2026-3770
You asked
In July 2025, the UK Statistics Authority released to Parliament a Labour Force Survey (LFS) analysis showing that 639,000 people whose highest qualification was a degree or equivalent were claiming Universal Credit in March to May 2025.
Using the same definitions, please provide for the latest available three-month period, and for March to May 2025 for comparison:
The number and proportion of people aged 16 to 64 with a degree or equivalent as their highest qualification who report claiming Universal Credit, broken down by subject of degree, at the broadest subject grouping the sample size supports.
The same figures broken down by age band: 16 to 24, 25 to 34, 35 to 49 and 50 to 64.
The same figures split between those in employment and those not in employment.
For context, the equivalent overall figures for people whose highest qualification is below degree level and for people with no qualifications.
If any breakdown is too small to be reliable, I am happy for quarters to be pooled or categories to be combined, and I would rather have a coarser breakdown with reliability markers than no breakdown at all. Please include the standard caveats on LFS sampling.
We said
Thank you for your request regarding people holding degrees or equivalent who were claiming Universal Credit.
We produce labour market statistics from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), which is a survey based on interviews with individuals about themselves and their work. In addition to someone's labour market status and age, the LFS collects information on an individual's benefit claim information, as well as collecting information about their qualifications.
The analysis you refer to was produced on an ad-hoc basis, specifically for the purposes of answering that Parliamentary Question.
Unfortunately, we do not produce or publish this output on a regular basis, and we do not hold this information in a recorded form. To fulfil this request, we would need to create new information, which we are not obliged to do under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
However, it would be possible to request a tailored analysis by contacting our Social Surveys team, although there may be a charge for this service depending on the amount of time taken to develop the analysis and undertake quality and disclosure control processes.
We also collate Universal Credit claimants' data with Jobseeker's Allowance claimants to calculate Claimant Count data, which is owned by the Department for Work and Pensions. However, this source does not include information on qualifications.