Changes in the claimant count in London since March 2020 help to illustrate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labour market.
In the month up to February 2023, the non-seasonally adjusted claimant count rose by 9,490 (3.4%).
On the year, the claimant count was down by 44,400 (13.5%).
From March 2020 to February 2023, the claimant count rose from 187,000 to 285,000 (52%).
The following sections present a breakdown of the latest data for people living in local authorities in London.
The claimant count rate varies between the regions and countries of the UK.
The region/country with the highest claimant count rate in February 2023 was West Midlands (4.8%), while the lowest rate was in South West (2.5%).
A year earlier in February 2022, the region/country with the highest rate was London (5.4%), while the lowest rate was in South West (3.0%).
The change in claimant count by age group varies significantly across local authorities. On the year (excl. City of London):
Aged 16-24: Camden, Hammersmith and Fulham saw the lowest percentage change at -14%.
Aged 25-49: Kensington and Chelsea saw the lowest percentage change at -21%.
Aged 50+: Kingston upon Thames saw the lowest percentage change at -23%.
The tables below provide detailed breakdowns of claimant count statistics for each London local authority, grouped by their respective London sub-regional partnership areas.
The ranks are assigned across all local authorities rather than within sub-regional partnerships.
The ONS has published its latest figures for February 2023 for the number of people claiming unemployment related benefits - the ONS Claimant Count. This briefing presents the latest statistics for local authorities in London.
The claimant count is the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance plus people claiming Universal Credit who are required to seek work. It is a timely source of data for tracking changes in the labour market at a local level, although many new claimants will not be wholly unemployed, partly due to changes in Universal Credit eligibility*. Some claimants will be unemployed and seeking work, others may be temporarily inactive or away from work, or employed but with low earnings. For more information see here.
Only non-seasonally adjusted data is available at the local level. We therefore use non seasonally adjusted data throughout this briefing for consistency.