Claimant count

The Office for National Statistics produce a monthly experimental count of people claiming benefits because they are seeking work or are required to seek a new job. This is available for sub-regional geographies and provides an indicator of changes to the local labour market more up to date than the headline employment figures (which cover a twelve-month period). The total includes claimants of Universal Credit (UC) who are required to search for work and people claiming earlier benefits such as Jobseekers Allowance (JSA). The count usually takes place on the second Thursday of the month.

In January 2021, almost 85,000 people in the North East LEP area were claiming these benefits
this was 30,000 more than in March 2020, with most of the increase taking place between March and April 2020 as restrictions introduced as a result of COVID-19 led to a sharp rise in the number of claims for Universal Credit. In recent months the total has fallen slightly
the North East LEP total represents 6.8 per cent of the 16-64 population, compared to 6.3 per cent across England
this is the fourth highest percentage among the eight English core city LEP areas
however, the percentage point change since March in the North East (+2.4) has been lower than in all seven other areas.

Within the North East in January 2021:

Among local authority areas, the claimant count rate ranged from 5.8 per cent in Northumberland to 8.9 per cent in South Tyneside
the rate has increased by more than 2 percentage points since March in all seven local authority areas
among constituencies, the rate was highest in South Shields (9.9 per cent) and Newcastle upon Tyne Central (9.4 per cent)
28 wards (out of 240 in total) had claimant rates of 10 per cent and above, this was true of only seven wards in March 2020
each North East local authority had at least two wards with a claimant count rate of 10 per cent or more
just over a third of claimants were under 30 years old, a similar percentage were aged 30 to 44 and slightly less than a third were aged 45 plus
these proportions were similar to those in March 2020. Increases in claimant count were about 50 to 60 per cent for all working age groups.

Claimant count, North East LEP

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Last updated:
23/02/2021

Published by:
North East LEP

Source: Claimant Count Feb 2020 onwards [ONS via Nomis, last updated on 23 Feb 2021]

Data information: Experimental count of people claiming "job-seekers" benefits. This includes unemployed people seeking employment and recipients of benefits who are employed who are required to look for work to be eligible, e.g. those in low-paid jobs. Based on North East LEP area.