Figures published by the Office for National Statistics show that 5,555 people in the Isle of Wight area were claiming ‘out of work benefits’ during February 2021 – these figures also includes Universal Credit figures.
That’s a rise of 310 since January 2021, when there were 5,245 claimants, and a rise of 2,980 from February 2020 (2,575 JSA claimants).
Breakdown of claimants
Of those claiming in February 2021,
- 3,285 were male
- 2,270 were female
- 5 were 16-17
- 1,080 were aged 18 To 24
- (605 were aged 18 To 21)
- 2,920 were aged 25 To 49
- 1,550 were aged 50+
That means 7% of the resident population of area aged 16-64 is claiming out of work benefits – 1.6% more than the rest of the South East (5.4), and 0.5% more than the whole of the UK (6.5%).
Image: John Schnobrich under CC BY 2.0
