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.
September 2022 figures
Unemployment
Unemployment is 1,285,000 – 14,000 lower than last month’s published figure (the quarterly headline fell by 12,000). The unemployment rate, 3.8%, has fallen by 0.1 percentage points on last month and decreased by 0.1 percentage points on last quarter.
The ONS figure for claimant unemployed is 1,224,000. The claimant unemployment rate is 3.6%.
Employment
The employment rate rose to 75.9% in today’s data, a jump of 0.4 percentage points on the quarter and 0.3 points higher than the figure reported last month.
Employment by Nationality
Almost 90% of those employed in the UK are UK nationals. The employment rate for UK nationals is 75.4%. For non-UK nationals, the employment rate is 75.3%. However, the rate for EU nationals is significantly higher at 81.8%.
57.3% of employment growth since 2010 has been among UK nationals
Young people (aged 16-24)
905,000 young people are out of work (i.e., unemployed, or inactive) and not in FTE. This equates to 13.3% of all young people.
6 million young people are in full-time education (FTE) or work – up 51,000 (0.9%) on the year ND UP 7,000 (1.1%) on 2010.
871,000 young people are out of work (i.e., unemployed, or inactive) and not in FTE. This equates to 12.7% of all young people.
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 | 200 | 180 | 175 | 165 | 400 | 25 | 680 | 275 | 235 | 240 | 325 | 365 | 3,265 |
| Aged 18-24 | 18,065 | 17,300 | 38,720 | 12,940 | 34,435 | 6,130 | 19,830 | 25,385 | 12,260 | 11,950 | 30,885 | 25,195 | 254,095 |
| Aged 25-29 | 13,835 | 12,500 | 36,980 | 8,845 | 25,525 | 4,645 | 14,655 | 19,720 | 10,590 | 8,455 | 22,645 | 18,190 | 196,585 |
| Totals | 32,100 | 29,980 | 75,875 | 21,950 | 60,360 | 10,800 | 35,165 | 45,380 | 24,085 | 20,645 | 53,855 | 43,750 | 453,945 |
Young People not in education employment or training (NEET), August 22 data. (Source Census 2021).
Small increase in the number of young people who were aged 16-24 in April – June 2022 the total currently estimated to be 711,000 up from 707,000 in January to March 2022.
There were an estimated 221,000 young people in the UK aged 18 to 24 years who were NEET and unemployed, a record low for the data series.
There were an estimated 447,000 economically inactive young people aged 18 to 24 years who were NEET, up 24,000 on the quarter and up 118,000 on the year.
Vacancies
For the first time in living memory now more job vacancies than there are people unemployed.
Vacancies (for Jun-Aug ‘22) at 1.27 million (a near record high) – down 34,000 (-2.6%) on the quarter and up 470,000 (59%) on Jan-Mar ’20 (since Covid-19).
Single month’s estimate of vacancies (for Aug ‘22) at 1.26 million vacancies – down 33,000 (-2.6%) on the quarter and up 504,000 (66.7%) on March ’20 (since Covid-19).
Economic inactivity
Economic inactivity is higher than it was before the first lockdown.
- Economic inactivity is at 9,011 million (21.7% rate).
- Excluding students, inactivity is at 6.610 million.
Reason for inactivity Current (000s) Change on quarter Change on Dec-Feb ’20 Change on 2010 election Student 2,401 +130 +271 +84 Looking after family/home 1,722 -2 -118 -647 Temp sick 202 +1 +25 +22 Long-term sick 2,464 +127 +352 +237 Discouraged workers 18 -2 -18 -62 Retired 1,196 +16 +74 -332 Other 1,009 -74 +55 +210 Total 9,011 +194 +642 -488
