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 2023 figures
(published 16th May 2023)
Unemployment (all ages)
The ONS figure for claimant unemployed is 1,329,000. The claimant
unemployment rate is 3.9%.
Young people (aged 16-24)
5.858 million young people are in full-time education (FTE) or work – down 77,000 (1.3%) on the year.
983,000 young people are out of work (i.e., unemployed, or inactive) and not in FTE. This equates to 14.4% of all young people.
Economic inactivity for Jan-March 23 is 37.4%
Unemployment rate for 16–24-year-olds is 11.3% – January-March 23.
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 | 190 | 175 | 130 | 145 | 370 | 35 | 635 | 235 | 215 | 220 | 285 | 385 | 3,020 |
| Aged 18-24 | 19,675 | 18,850 | 40,325 | 13,670 | 36,925 | 6,290 | 19,820 | 27,155 | 14,805 | 12,610 | 33,595 | 27,755 |
271,475 |
| Aged 25-29 | 14,320 | 13,220 | 38,065 | 9,045 | 26,450 | 4,875 | 15,110 | 20,505 | 10,980 | 8,515 | 23,985 | 18,850 | 203,920 |
| Totals | 34,185 | 32,245 | 78,520 | 22,860 | 63,745 | 11,200 | 35,565 | 47,895 | 26,000 | 21,345 | 57,865 | 46,990 | 478,415 |
Currently over 478,415 16–29-year-olds unemployed.
Vacancies
Vacancies (for Feb-April ‘23) at 1.08million– down 55,000 (-4.8%) on the quarter and up 282,000 (35.2%) on Jan – March 20 (since Covid-19).
Single month’s estimate of vacancies (for April 23) at 1.086 million vacancies – unchanged on the quarter and up 330,000 (43.7%) on March ’20 (since Covid-19).
Economic inactivity (all ages).
Economic inactivity is at 8.730 million (21%).
Excluding students, inactivity is at 6.552 million. This is 15.8% of 16–64-year-olds and is unchanged on the year.
| Reason for inactivity | Current (000s) | Change on quarter | Change on Dec-Feb ’20 | Change on 2010 election |
| Student | 2,179 | -95 | +48 | -115 |
| Looking after family/home | 1,660 | -42 | -180 | -633 |
| Temp sick | 194 | -5 | +18 | +15 |
| Long-term sick | 2,550 | +86 | +438 | +322 |
| Discouraged workers | 31 | 0 | -5 | -49 |
| Retired | 1,083 | -23 | -39 | -391 |
| Other | 1,033 | -76 | +79 | +234 |
| Total | 8,730 | -156 | +361 | -513 |
Employment by nationality (for Oct-Dec 22 next data 16 May)
87.1% of those employed in the UK are UK nationals. The employment rate for UK nationals is 75.9%. For non-UK nationals, the employment rate is 76.1%.
51.2% of employment growth since 2010 has been among UK nationals.
