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.
JuLY 2024 figures
Published on 18 July 2024 and valid until 13 August 2024.
Source: Office for National Statistics
Unemployment (all ages)
The figure for claimant count is 1,662,000.
The UK unemployment rate was 4.4% and 1.52 million people aged 16+ were unemployed. The unemployment rate is up on both the quarter and the year.
Young people (aged 16-24)
The unemployment rate for 16–24-year-olds is 13.9% for March 2024 – May 2024. The economic inactivity rate for March 2024 – May 2024 is 41% for 16–24-year-olds, up by 2.1% pts on the previous year.
Young people (aged 16-29)
| Age | North East | North West | Yorkshire and The Humber | East Midlands | West Midlands | East | London | South East | South West | Wales | Scotland | Northern Ireland | Totals |
| Aged 16-17 | 140 | 355 | 335 | 185 | 275 | 210 | 135 | 245 | 225 | 230 | 620 | 55 | 3,010 |
| Aged 18-24 | 12,915 | 36,490 | 28,385 | 19,455 | 35,315 | 20,595 | 45,060 | 27,910 | 15,370 | 12,165 | 18,995 | 5,570 | 278,225 |
| Aged 25-29 | 8,120 | 25,430 | 18,110 | 12,790 | 23,880 | 14,320 | 40,605 | 20,190 | 10,655 | 8,070 | 13,580 | 4,515 | 200,265 |
| Totals | 21,175 | 62,275 | 46,830 | 32,430 | 59,470 | 35,125 | 85,800 | 48,345 | 26,250 | 20,465 | 33,195 | 10,140 | 481,500 |
Currently the claimant count for those aged 16-29 is 481,500.
Vacancies
- Vacancies (for Apr-Jun ‘24) at 889,000 – down 30,000 (-3.3%) on the quarter and up 93,000 (11.7%) on Jan-Mar ’20 (since Covid-19).
- Single month estimate of vacancies (for June ‘24) at 900,000 vacancies – down 38,000 (-4.1%) on the quarter and up 144,000 (19.0%) on March ’20 (since Covid-19).
Disabled people (Jan to March 2024)
The disability employment rate is 52.9%
Employment by nationality (Jan to March 2024)
- 86.5% of those employed in the UK are UK nationals, while 6.3% 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 74.7% (80.7% for EU nationals, 70.0% for non-EU nationals).