Summary of Buckinghamshire's Out-of-Work Benefits Claimant Count
This report provides a summary of the number of Buckinghamshire residents claiming out-of-work related benefits (the Claimant Count). In July 2024, 10,520 Buckinghamshire residents were claiming these benefits, reflecting an increase from the period before the Covid-19 pandemic. The Claimant Count rate in Buckinghamshire is currently at 3.1%, lower than the national average. The report highlights a detailed breakdown by parliamentary constituency, showing varying rates within the region. Additionally, comparisons with other areas in England are made to provide context. For more information, refer to the Technical Appendix.
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Click to edit Master title style Click to edit Master title style Buckinghamshire s Claimant Count Click to edit Master subtitle style Click to edit Master subtitle style August 2024 06/10/2024 06/10/2024 1 1
About This report provides a summary of the number of Buckinghamshire residents claiming out-of-work related benefits (the Claimant Count). Data is sourced from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and can be found on the NOMIS website. A full explanation of the Claimant Count can be found in the Technical Appendix at the end of this report. BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNCIL
Headlines July 2024 Buckinghamshire s Claimant Count rate (the proportion of working-age people claiming out-of-work related benefits) is ticking upwards. It currently stands at 3.1%, lower than the national average of 4.4%. In July 2024, 10,520 Buckinghamshire residents were claiming out-of-work related benefits. There were 4,980 more claimants in Buckinghamshire in July 2024 than at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic four years ago in March 2020. Some of this increase is likely to be due to changes to the benefits system. When compared with the 38 enterprise areas* in England, Buckinghamshire has the joint 10thlowest Claimant Count rate (up from having the fourth lowest rate pre-pandemic). Within Buckinghamshire, the Claimant Count rate is highest (and above the national average) in the Wycombe parliamentary constituency area (4.8%). *Enterprise areas are former Local Enterprise Partnership areas. They remain a statistical geography for the purposes of understanding local economies. BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNCIL
Table 1: Claimant Count June 2024 Area March 2020 July 2024 March 2020 - July 2024 Number of claimants Claimant count rate (%) Number of claimants Claimant count rate (%) Change in number of claimants % point change in claimant count rate Parliamentary constituency 2,865 4.1 1,465 2.3 Aylesbury 1,400 1.8 1,405 2.4 630 1.0 Beaconsfield 775 1.4 2,445 3.7 1,035 1.4 Buckingham & Bletchley 1,410 2.3 1,385 2.4 635 1.1 Chesham & Amersham 750 1.3 970 1.7 455 0.7 Mid Buckinghamshire 515 1.0 3,315 4.8 1,530 2.0 Wycombe 1,785 2.8 10,520 3.1 4,980 1.4 Buckinghamshire 5,540 1.7 1,574,645 4.4 511,140 1.4 England 1,063,505 3.0 Source: DWP, via NOMIS BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNCIL
Chart 1: Claimant Count July 2024 7% 18,000 4,980 more claimants in July 2024 than in March 2020 16,000 6% 14,000 5% 12,000 4% 10,000 8,000 3% 6,000 2% 4,000 1% 2,000 0% 0 Bucks claimant count Bucks claimant rate % (16-64) England claimant rate % (16-64) Source: DWP, via NOMIS BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNCIL
Chart 2: Claimant Count rate by enterprise area (July 2024) 8% 7% 6% 5% 4% 3% 2% 1% 0% Source: DWP, via NOMIS BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNCIL
Chart 3: Claimant Count rate % point change, March 2020 to July 2024, by enterprise area 3.5% 3.0% 2.5% 2.0% 1.5% 1.0% 0.5% 0.0% -0.5% Source: DWP, via NOMIS BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNCIL
Characteristics of claimants Between March 2020 and July 2024, the Claimant Count rate in Buckinghamshire for men rose by 1.3 percentage points, compared to 1.5 percentage points for women. People aged 25-49 make up a greater proportion of all those claiming now than pre-pandemic. There was an 113% increase in the number of 25-49 year old claimants in Buckinghamshire between March 2020 and July 2024, compared with a 90% increase across all ages. BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNCIL
Technical Appendix (1) The Claimant Count counts the number of people who claim Universal Credit and are required to seek work and be available for work plus the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance. It is a measure of the number of people claiming out-of-work related benefits. Whilst the Claimant Count is not a measure of unemployment, it is a useful proxy at the local level as unemployment data derived from survey data has large margins of error. It is also a timely measure as data is released on a monthly basis. Data released in the second week in January 2024 for example, measures the number of claimants in the month to the second week in December 2023. BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNCIL
Technical Appendix (2) Some key things to bear in mind when interpreting this data Not all those who are unemployed claim benefits. This is largely due to people finding new work very quickly or having other sources of financial support at home. Not all those counted within the Claimant Count are unemployed (some are working a low number of hours and / or are earning a low income). The proportion of claimants who are in work has increased during 2023. Due to continuous changes to the benefits system, which affects who is and is not counted within the Claimant Count, timeseries analysis should be undertaken with caution. BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNCIL
For further information on the information presented within this slide deck please contact James Moorhouse James.Moorhouse@buckinghamshire.gov.uk Links below to the data tables used are below: Claimant Count Further analysis of the the Buckinghamshire economy can be found on the Buckinghamshire Economic Observatory website www.buckseconomy.co.uk Follow @buckseconomy for tweets about the Buckinghamshire economy and labour market BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNCIL
