More than half a million people who were entitled to claim jobseekers allowance failed to do so in 2004-05, according to the latest government statistics.
Figures from the Department for Work and Pensions showed that there was some evidence of a small decrease in take-up of jobseekers allowance between 2003-04 and 2004-05, leaving £1.4bn left unclaimed.
Take-up appeared to be lowest among single females.
There were 530,000 recipients of jobseeker’s allowance in 2004-05, receiving £1.7bn of benefit.
