Claimant Count figures
Claimant count figures
The claimant count includes the number of people on Universal Credit who are required to seek work and be available for work, plus people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA). It is the headline indicator of the number of people claiming benefits principally for the reason of being unemployed.
The figures are for February 2025. Claimant count data are currently designated as 'official statistics in development'.
In February 2025 the revised proportion of persons aged 16-64 on the claimant count was 3.9% in the Lancashire-12 area. This was lower than the United Kingdom proportion of 4.1%. However, the proportions for the Lancashire-14 area (4.3%) and the North West region (4.4%) were above the UK figure.
Pendle (6.8%) had the highest proportion in Lancashire-14, followed by Blackpool (6.3%), Burnley (6.3%), Blackburn with Darwen (6.2%), Hyndburn (5.9%) and Preston (4.9%). All had proportions above the UK. Ribble Valley (1.7%) had the lowest proportion in the Lancashire-14 area.
Blackburn with Darwen (6,105) had the highest total in the Lancashire-14 area, followed by Blackpool (5,570), Preston (5,015) and Pendle (4,000). Ribble Valley (660) had the lowest total.
Yearly change
Compared to February 2024, the claimant count increased by 6.5% in Lancashire-12 and increased by 7.0% in Lancashire-14 (UK=+9.7%).
Pendle (+18.2%) had the largest percentage increase, followed by Blackburn with Darwen (+17.2%) and Preston (+12.2%). All increased at a higher rate than the UK. South Ribble (-4.5%) had the lowest percentage change.
February 2025 graphs and data tables
Source: Powered by LG Inform Plus - Claimant count numbers sourced from the Office for National Statistics via the National On-line Manpower Information System (Nomisweb - Claimant count dataset).
The introduction of Universal Credit (UC) in 2013 resulted in inconsistencies in the coverage of the claimant count across the UK, owing to the different speeds of the UC roll out. In June 2015, the claimant count figures were consequently re-classified as 'official statistics in development' (previously experimental statistics) by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Care should therefore be taken when analysing and interpreting the figures.
Under Universal Credit a broader span of claimants are required to look for work than under JSA. This can include some claimants who are in employment but earning below a certain earnings threshold. The rollout of the Universal Credit full service areas across Great Britain was completed by the end of 2018 and resulted in the number of people recorded as being on the claimant count increasing. The bulk of the migration of claimants on the previous legacy benefits to Universal Credit is expected to be completed by March 2026. Claimant count numbers are therefore expected to rise as the various stages of the migration are processed.
Impact of the Universal Credit full service roll out on the Claimant Count
Lancaster became a Universal Credit full service area in July 2016 – the first in the Lancashire-14 area. Claims could then be processed online, rather than via the phone. More complex claims are also processed. The result was an acceleration in the number of persons claiming Universal Credit in Lancaster. This was followed by
- Burnley, May 2017
- West Lancashire, December 2017
- Blackburn with Darwen and Hyndburn, February 2018
- Preston and South Ribble, March 2018
- Chorley, April 2018
- Pendle, Ribble Valley and Rossendale, July 2018
- Fylde, Wyre and Blackpool, September 2018
Claimant count data versus official unemployment and small area data
The claimant count does not measure official unemployment. Official unemployment has a wider definition and includes those economically active unemployed persons who meet the definition criteria, and who do not claim benefits, either through choice, or for reasons of non-eligibility. Official unemployment figures therefore tend to be somewhat higher than the claimant count.
Official unemployment data is not available below the district/unitary authority level, whereas claimant count data is available for small geographic areas such as wards and smaller lower-layer super output areas (LSOAs). The claimant count therefore provides a good proxy for unemployment at the small local level. Generally, a high claimant count in an area is a good indicator of high unemployment in that area.
Page updated 1 May 2025