The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the UK increased by 28.6 thousand to 1.691 million in January 2026, following a downwardly revised 2.7 thousand rise in the previous month and beating market expectations of a 22.8 thousand growth. source: Office for National Statistics

Claimant Count Change in the United Kingdom increased to 28.60 Thousand in January from 2.70 Thousand in December of 2025. Claimant Count Change in the United Kingdom averaged 1.75 Thousand from 1971 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 860.40 Thousand in April of 2020 and a record low of -171.80 Thousand in June of 2021. This page provides the latest reported value for - United Kingdom Claimant Count Change - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. United Kingdom Claimant Count Change - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on February of 2026.

Claimant Count Change in the United Kingdom increased to 28.60 Thousand in January from 2.70 Thousand in December of 2025. Claimant Count Change in the United Kingdom is expected to be 10.00 Thousand by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the United Kingdom Claimant Count Change is projected to trend around -5.00 Thousand in 2027 and -7.00 Thousand in 2028, according to our econometric models.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2026-01-20 07:00 AM
Claimant Count Change
Dec 17.9K -3.3K 15.6K 20.5K
2026-02-17 07:00 AM
Claimant Count Change
Jan 28.6K 2.7K 22.8K 22.0K
2026-03-19 07:00 AM
Claimant Count Change
Feb 28.6K 18.0K


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Average Weekly Hours 31.90 31.80 Hours Dec 2025
Claimant Count Change 28.60 2.70 Thousand Jan 2026
Employed Persons 34244.00 34303.00 Thousand Dec 2025
Employment Change 52.00 82.00 Thousand Dec 2025
Employment Rate 75.00 75.10 percent Dec 2025
Full Time Employment 25499.00 25537.00 Thousand Dec 2025
Job Vacancies 726.00 736.00 Thousand Dec 2025
Labor Force Participation Rate 79.20 79.20 percent Dec 2025
Labour Costs 112.70 110.70 points Sep 2025
HMRC Payrolls Change -10.56 -5.65 Thousand Jan 2026
Part Time Employment 8745.00 8766.00 Thousand Dec 2025
Population 69.28 68.49 Million Dec 2024
Labour Productivity 99.00 99.60 points Dec 2025
Unemployed Persons 1662.20 1659.50 Thousand Dec 2025
Unemployment Rate 5.20 5.10 percent Dec 2025
Average Earnings incl. Bonus (3Mo/Yr) 4.20 4.60 percent Dec 2025
Average Weekly Wages 735.00 740.00 GBP/Week Dec 2025
Wages in Manufacturing 810.00 807.00 GBP/Week Dec 2025
Youth Unemployment Rate 14.00 13.70 percent Dec 2025


United Kingdom Claimant Count Change
Claimant count in the United Kingdom measures the change in the number of people claiming unemployment related benefits.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
28.60 2.70 860.40 -171.80 1971 - 2026 Thousand Monthly
SA