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.
APRIL 2024 figures
Published on 16 April 2024 and valid until 14 May 2024.
Unemployment (all ages)
The figure for claimant count is 1,583,000.
The UK unemployment rate was 4.2% and 1.44 million people aged 16+ were unemployed. The unemployment rate is up on both the quarter and the year.
Young people (aged 16-24)
Unemployment rate for 16–24-year-olds is 12.8% for December 2023 – February 2024.
Economic inactivity for December 2023 – February 2024 is 42.8% for 16–24-year-olds up by 3.9% 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 Humber | Totals |
| Aged 16-17 | 270 | 165 | 150 | 150 | 355 | 60 | 675 | 275 | 275 | 235 | 270 | 355 | 3,235 |
| Aged 18-24 | 21,565 | 20,155 | 45,235 | 13,495 | 37,390 | 5,945 | 19,235 | 29,470 | 16,735 | 12,785 | 36,160 | 29,070 | 287,240 |
| Aged 25-29 | 14,605 | 12,970 | 40,700 | 8,450 | 25,515 | 4,700 | 14,030 | 21,050 | 11,300 | 8,295 | 24,065 | 18,255 | 203,935 |
| Totals | 36,440 | 33,290 | 86,085 | 22,095 | 63,260 | 10,705 | 33,940 | 50,795 | 28,310 | 21,315 | 60,495 | 47,680 | 494,410 |
Currently 490,990 16–29-year-olds unemployed.
Vacancies
Vacancies (for Jan-Mar ‘24) at 916,000 – down 13,000 (-1.4%) on the quarter and up 120,000 (15.1%) on Jan-Mar ’20 (since Covid-19).
Single month estimate of vacancies (for March ‘24) at 937,000 vacancies – up 97,000 (11.5%) on the quarter and up 182,000 (23.9%) 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.