Official Statistics

JSA and ESA sanction rates: explanation of methodology

An explanation of how benefit sanction rates were calculated for the press release 'Benefit sanctions down as more people helped into work'.

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

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JSA and ESA benefit sanctions rates: explanation of methodology

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Details

The press release Benefit sanctions down as more people helped into work stated “Sanctions are only used as a last resort in a small percentage of cases, with over 94% of JSA claimants and 99% of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimants not being sanctioned”.

This publication explains the methodological approach taken to calculate these rates using publicly available data.

Updates to this page

Published 17 July 2015

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