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 2024 figures
Published on 10 September 2024 and valid until 15 October 2024.
Source: Office for National Statistics
Unemployment (all ages)
The figure for claimant count is 1,792,000.
The UK unemployment rate was 4.1% and 1.44 million people aged 16+ were unemployed. The unemployment rate is down on the quarter and down on the year, but above pre-pandemic rates.
Young people (aged 16-24)
Unemployment rate for 16–24-year-olds is 14.2% for May 2024 – July 2024.
The economic inactivity rate for May 2024 – July 2024 is 41.2% for 16–24-year-olds, up by 0.5% pts on 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 The Humber | Totals |
Aged 16-17 | 195 | 175 | 160 | 165 | 420 | 20 | 650 | 275 | 225 | 255 | 300 | 360 | 3,200 |
Aged 18-24 | 17,625 | 16,730 | 37,830 | 12,545 | 33,735 | 5,960 | 19,200 | 24,655 | 12,995 | 11,570 | 30,195 | 24,640 | 247,680 |
Aged 25-29 | 13,900 | 12,410 | 37,310 | 8,910 | 25,710 | 4,580 | 14,675 | 19,820 | 10,575 | 8,410 | 22,665 | 18,250 | 197,215 |
Totals | 31,720 | 29,315 | 75,300 | 21,620 | 59,865 | 10,560 | 34,525 | 44,750 | 23,795 | 20,235 | 53,160 | 43,250 | 448,095 |
Currently the claimant count for those aged 16-29 is 502,060.
Vacancies
- The headline figures for vacancies (for Jun-Aug ‘24) shows the UK has 857,000 vacancies – down 42,000 (-4.7%) on the quarter and up 61,000 (7.7%) on Jan-Mar ’20 (since Covid-19).
- The experimental single month estimate of vacancies (for August ‘24) is 845,000 – down 63,000 (-6.9%) on the quarter and up 89,000 (11.8%) on March ’20 (since Covid-19).
Disabled people (April to June 2024)
The disability employment rate is 53%.
Employment by nationality (Apr to Jun 2024)
- 86.5% of those employed in the UK are UK nationals, while 6.4% are EU nationals and 7.1% are non-EU nationals.
- The employment rate for UK nationals is 74.4%. For non-UK nationals, the employment rate is 73.9% (79.2% for EU nationals, 69.7% for non-EU nationals).