ONE in four Inverclyde households have nobody in work — with the district among the worst performing in the UK for two years running.

According to new figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) more than a quarter of local homes are deemed ‘workless’.

Last year just over 25 per cent of local households fell into that bracket, slightly down on 26.6 per cent in 2015.

Despite the improvement, Inverclyde is still in the top five worst performing areas in the UK.

An ONS statement said: “Hartlepool, North Ayrshire and Inverclyde are among areas with highest percentage of workless households in both 2015 and 2016.”

The study found that there were 7,000 workless homes in the district in each of the last two years compared with 13,000 ‘working’ households — just under half.

Almost 26 per cent of properties in 2016 were classed as ‘mixed’ - where there are some family members in employment and others who are not - which is up two per cent on the previous 12 months.

Inverclyde’s workless rate is the second worst in Scotland at 25.1 per cent, just behind North Ayrshire on 25.9 per cent.

The area also ranks eighth in the whole of the UK but fifth when areas where data ‘not considered reliable’ is stripped out.

According to the ONS, a workless household is one that contains at least one person aged 16 to 64, where no-one aged 16 or over is in employment.