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.
JUNE 2025 figures
Published on 10 June 2025 – valid until 17 July 2025.
Source: Office for National Statistics
Unemployment (all ages)
The figure for claimant count is 1,735,000.
The UK unemployment rate was 4.6% and 1.64 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 14.3% for February – April 2025 and 625,000 people aged 16 to 24 were unemployed. 42,000 more than the previous year.
The economic inactivity rate for February – April 2025 is 40.9% for 16–24-year-olds and there were 3.03 million young people aged 16 to 24 who were economically inactive, 50,000 more than 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 | 235 | 195 | 185 | 125 | 390 | 50 | 730 | 290 | 245 | 275 | 290 | 335 | 3,345 |
| Aged 18-24 | 23,240 | 21,605 | 50,220 | 13,225 | 39,085 | 5,555 | 18,925 | 31,540 | 17,520 | 13,135 | 38,895 | 30,330 | 303,275 |
| Aged 25-29 | 14,715 | 13,165 | 42,870 | 7,785 | 25,475 | 4,255 | 13,200 | 20,630 | 11,225 | 7,895 | 24,655 | 18,150 | 204,020 |
| Totals | 38,190 | 34,965 | 93,275 | 21,135 | 64,950 | 9,860 | 32,855 | 52,460 | 28,990 | 21,305 | 63,840 | 48,815 | 510,640 |
Currently, the claimant count for those aged 16-29 is 510,640.
Vacancies
- The headline figures for vacancies (for Mar-May ‘25) shows the UK has 736,000 vacancies – down 63,000 (-7.9%) on the quarter and down 59,000 (-7.4%) on Jan-Mar ’20 (since Covid-19).
- The official statistics in development single month estimate of vacancies (for May ‘25) is 720,000 – down 58,000 (-7.5%) on the quarter.
Disabled people (January to March 2025)
The disability employment rate is 54%.
Employment by nationality (January to March 2025)
- 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).