More than one in five women (22 percent) and 11 percent of men would avoid applying for a job which required basic arithmetic skills, new research by leading vocational London university GSM London has revealed.

The YouGov research polled 2,000 UK adults and 1,000 businesses to find out the extent of the UK’s fear of numbers and how this could potentially affect job prospects. Some 28 percent of those who are currently unemployed would be put off from applying for a job if it required them to be ‘good with numbers’. Over one in ten (12 percent) of 18 to 24-year-olds admitted to exaggerating their maths skills when applying for a job. With 75 percent of senior business owners claiming they would choose one candidate over another if they better numeracy skills, it seems a lack of basic maths skills may heavily affect career opportunities. Over half (57 percent) admitted that they would be unlikely to hire a candidate who did not have a grade C or above in GCSE Maths.

Janki Amin, Employer Relations & Partnerships Manager at GSM London, said: “The lack of basic arithmetic among UK adults came as a real surprise to us. The survey also found that 81 percent of adults have never tried to improve their numeracy skills since leaving full-time education. “In such a competitive job market and with such a wide range of additional teaching outlets available, there are plenty of opportunities available to those wanting to improve their skill set.”

Mike Ellicock, Chief Executive at National Numeracy, said: “Good numeracy is essential in every job and virtually every aspect of daily life. And the fact is that everyone can improve their everyday maths skills – with effort and support. No-one should write themselves off – or write themselves out of a job – because of a lack of confidence with numbers.”