Skip to content
Best in Britain logo
Best in Britain

Regional Labour Market Status

Live ONS Claimant Count tracker detailing registered jobseeker numbers, unemployment proportions of the active population, and gender splits by region.

Total GB Claimants1,709,200Total active claimants (May 2026)
Average Claimant Rate3.8%Proportion of active population
Highest Claimant Rate5.7%London region average
Report Data PeriodMay 2026Latest monthly ONS release

Regional Claimant Rate Index

Region Total Claimants Rate % Male Rate % Female Rate %
London355,0405.7%6.2%5.1%
West Midlands202,6255.3%6.1%4.5%
North West202,7404.2%5.0%3.4%
Yorkshire and The Humber145,9954.1%4.8%3.5%
North East64,1653.8%4.5%3.0%
East Midlands110,6303.5%4.0%3.0%
Wales65,3453.4%3.9%2.8%
East132,5803.3%3.6%2.9%
South East187,1303.1%3.6%2.8%
Scotland109,9753.1%3.8%2.5%
South West99,0452.8%3.1%2.4%
Northern Ireland33,9302.8%3.1%2.6%

Labour Market Analysis

The claimant count dataset provides a high-frequency monthly pulse of regional economic activity in Great Britain. Areas with heavy industrial restructuring or historical transition periods, such as the North East and the West Midlands, often record higher claimant count rates (exceeding 5.0% of the active working-age population).

Conversely, regions in the South of England, particularly the South East and the South West, consistently register the lowest claimant counts and rate proportions, highlighting their tight labor markets and high employment densities. Gender splits show that claimant counts are slightly higher for males across most regions, reflecting structural differences in sector participation rates.

Claimant Rate Leaderboard

Regions ranked by their total claimant count proportion.

London5.7%
West Midlands5.3%
North West4.2%
Yorkshire and The Humber4.1%
North East3.8%
East Midlands3.5%
Wales3.4%