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.
MAY 2025 figures
Published on 13 May 2025 – valid until 10 June 2025.
Source: Office for National Statistics
Unemployment (all ages)
The figure for claimant count is 1,726,000.
The UK unemployment rate was 4.5% for January – March 2025 and 1.61 million people aged 16+ were unemployed. The unemployment rate is up 0.2% on the previous quarter and is above estimates of a year ago.
Young people (aged 16-24)
Unemployment rate for 16–24-year-olds is 14.2% for January – March 2025 and 620,000 people aged 16 to 24 were unemployed. 59,000 more than the previous year.
The economic inactivity rate for January – March 2025 is 40.9% for 16–24-year-olds, down from 41.6% the year before. There were 3.02 million young people aged 16 to 24 who were economically inactive, the same as 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 | 250 | 220 | 175 | 135 | 395 | 50 | 715 | 310 | 250 | 285 | 300 | 345 | 3,430 |
| Aged 18-24 | 23,650 | 21,930 | 50,590 | 13,525 | 39,670 | 5,655 | 19,265 | 31,865 | 18,015 | 13,420 | 39,295 | 30,850 | 307,730 |
| Aged 25-29 | 14,710 | 13,160 | 42,485 | 7,900 | 25,690 | 4,480 | 13,305 | 20,775 | 11,440 | 7,960 | 24,580 | 18,240 | 204,725 |
| Totals | 38,610 | 35,310 | 93,250 | 21,560 | 65,755 | 10,185 | 33,285 | 52,950 | 29,705 | 21,665 | 64,175 | 49,435 | 515,885 |
Currently the claimant count for those aged 16-29 is 515,885
Vacancies
- The headline figures for vacancies (for Feb-Apr ‘25) shows the UK has 761,000 vacancies – down 43,000 (-5.3%) on the quarter and down 34,000 (-4.3%) on Jan-Mar ’20 (since Covid-19).
Disabled people (October 2024 to December 2024)
The disability employment rate is 54%.
Employment by nationality (October 2024 to December 2024)
- 86.1% of those employed in the UK are UK nationals, while 6.4% are EU nationals and 7.5% are non-EU nationals.
- The employment rate for UK nationals is 74.9%. For non-UK nationals, the employment rate is 76.0% (81.4% for EU nationals, 72.0% for non-EU nationals).