How many people are unemployed in the UK?
3.9% of working-age people in the UK were claiming unemployment-related benefits in August 2026. This is the claimant count, which is not the same as the official unemployment rate.
Of people aged 16 to 64, August 2026. Jobseeker’s Allowance and Universal Credit while looking for work.
In 2025, the 8th highest of 16 economies. A different measure, from surveys.
Claimant rate in Birmingham Perry Barr.
The claimant rate over time
What’s this?
People claiming Jobseeker's Allowance or Universal Credit while looking for work, as a share of everyone aged 16 to 64. It is one measure of people out of work.
What it cannot tell you: It counts people claiming a benefit, so it is not the same as unemployment measured by surveys. The rules for who can claim have changed over time.
Claimant rate by area
Share of people aged 16 to 64 claiming, in each of the 649 constituencies, August 2026. Find your own area →
Highest ten
| Area | Claimant rate |
|---|---|
| Birmingham Perry Barr | 14.8% |
| Birmingham Ladywood | 12.2% |
| Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley | 11.4% |
| Birmingham Yardley | 10.9% |
| Birmingham Erdington | 10.3% |
| Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North | 10.1% |
| Bradford West | 9.6% |
| Birmingham Edgbaston | 9.4% |
| Bradford East | 9.2% |
| Brent East | 8.9% |
Lowest ten
| Area | Claimant rate |
|---|---|
| Westmorland and Lonsdale | 1.4% |
| York Outer | 1.4% |
| Orkney and Shetland | 1.4% |
| Wetherby and Easingwold | 1.5% |
| West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine | 1.6% |
| Henley and Thame | 1.7% |
| Skipton and Ripon | 1.7% |
| North East Somerset and Hanham | 1.7% |
| Mid Dunbartonshire | 1.7% |
| Oxford West and Abingdon | 1.7% |
Questions people ask
What is the unemployment rate in the UK?
The claimant count was 3.9% of working-age people in August 2026. The IMF puts the UK unemployment rate at 4.9% in 2025. The official unemployment rate, from the Labour Force Survey, is published by the ONS each month.
What is the claimant count?
It counts people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance or the part of Universal Credit for people who are looking for work. It is a count of claims, not a survey.
Why is the claimant count different from the unemployment rate?
The rate comes from a survey asking who is out of work and looking for it, whether or not they claim benefits. Some unemployed people do not claim, and some claimants are working part-time, so the two differ.
Which areas have the highest claimant rates?
Birmingham Perry Barr had the highest at 14.8% and Westmorland and Lonsdale the lowest at 1.4%. See the tables above.
Sources: ONS and DWP claimant count (via Nomis), August 2026; IMF World Economic Outlook for the international figure. Updated every night.
See also: Compare your area · Average UK salary · The UK against other countries · When new figures are published