The Claimant Count

The Claimant Count is the most reliable data that we use in MtW. While figures are published monthly by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), it is still only an estimate, but one which is directly sourced from the DWP / Jobcentre Plus admin system.  It covers the whole of the UK.

The Claimant Count measures the number of people claiming unemployment related benefits, usually Job Seekers Allowance, Universal Credit (UC) and National Insurance Credits. 

The Claimant Count is NOT just about unemployment, but there is a large overlap. It does not meet the internationally agreed definition of unemployment specified by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), but does include people on UC who are in work but with very low earnings. Additionally, the Claimant Count can include some people who are NEET and economically inactive.

Please note: In February 24, the Office for National Statistics reintroduced Labour Force Survey data, which includes a population reweighting. This is after some experimental headline data was published between Oct 23 and Jan 24 due to falling response rates. The ONS have said the reintroduced LFS estimates should be treated with additional caution and quarterly change estimates are particularly volatile.

February 2024 figures 

(published 13th February 2024)

Unemployment (all ages)

The figure, as of January 2024, for claimant unemployed is 1,579,000.

The UK unemployment rate was 3.8%, and 1.32 million people aged 16+ were unemployed. Both unemployment levels and the unemployment rates have fallen slightly over the last year. 

The claimant unemployment rate was 3.8% (the percentage of the economically active population who are unemployed), down from 3.9% the year before.


Young people (aged 16-24)

Unemployment rate for 16–24-year-olds is 11.6% for October – December 2023.

Economic inactivity for October – December 23 is 41.5% for 16–24-year-olds up from 39.4% in the previous year.


Young people (aged 16-29)

Age East   East Midlands London North East North West Northern Ireland Scotland South East South West Wales West Midlands Yorkshire and Humber Totals      
Aged 16-17 250 195 165 160 385 70 710 270 270 245 280 405 3,405
Aged 18-24 20,665 19,335 43,260 13,220 36,295 5,750 18,595 28,265 15,985 12,420 34,560 28,750 277,100
Aged 25-29 14,390 12,780 39,235 8,310 25,095 4,575 13,710 20,600 11,025 8,040 23,165 17,980 198,905
Totals 35,305 32,310 82,660 21,690 61,775 10,395 33,015 49,135 27,280 20,705 58,005 47,135 479,410

Currently over 479,410 16–29-year-olds unemployed.


Vacancies

Vacancies (for Nov-Jan ‘24) at 932,000 – down 26,000 (-2.7%) on the quarter and up 131,000 (16.4%) on Jan-Mar ’20 (since Covid-19).

Single month estimate of vacancies (for January ‘24) at 855,000 vacancies – down 126,000 (-12.8%) on the quarter and up 99,000 (13.1%) on March ’20 (since Covid-19).


Disabled people (Oct-Dec 2023)

The disability employment rate is 54.2%.

Employment by nationality (Oct-Dec 23)

86.4% of those employed in the UK are UK nationals, while 6.6% are EU nationals and 6.9% are non-EU nationals.

The employment rate for UK nationals is 74.9%. For non-UK nationals, the employment rate is 76.3% (82.4% for EU nationals, 71.3% for non-EU nationals).

45.4% of employment growth since 2010 has been among UK nationals.