Pre-Budget Report

No, I must get on. Even without counting the reduction in economic activity, keeping someone out of work costs at least £12,000 in benefits paid out and tax not taken in. That is £12,000 per person that is added to the deficit. To put it another way, throwing someone out of work is like turning a useful member of a ship's crew into a passenger who then has to be looked after by the remainder of the crew.