The UK Government spends 50 times more on working-age benefits than on helping people into work across England's seven established mayoral areas, according to Centre for Cities.
Just £76 per working-age resident goes on employment support, against £3,754 on benefits, the think tank calculates. The gap is widest in Liverpool City Region, where benefits spending is £4,569 per resident and employment support just £66.
Mayors control only 15% of employment support spending despite growing responsibility for local growth.
The think tank warns that the Government risks setting mayors up to fail unless devolution comes with enough funding and incentives.
It wants spending on employment support raised from £3.7bn to £4.6bn a year, mayors given a share of savings and extra tax revenue when employment programmes successfully move people into work, and a phased devolution of employment support.
Anthony Breach, Director of Policy and Research at Centre for Cities, said: ‘Devolving employment support is the right prescription. But ministers cannot simply hand mayors responsibility for getting people into work without the money to make it happen. And if local leaders are expected to bear the costs, they should share in the financial rewards when they succeed.’
