Figures published by the Office for National Statistics show that 3,040 people on the Isle of Wight were claiming ‘out of work benefits’ (wording defined by ONS) during December 2023 – these figures also include Universal Credit figures.
That’s a rise of 235 since November 2023, when there were 2,805 claimants, and a rise of 140 from December 2022 (2,900 JSA claimants).
Breakdown of claimants
Of those claiming in December 2023:
- 1,680 were male
- 1,360 were female
- 10 were 16-17
- 605 were aged 18 To 24
- 360 were aged 18 To 21
- 1,655 were aged 25 To 49
- 770 were aged 50+
National comparison
That means 3.9 per cent of the resident population of area aged 16-64 is claiming out of work benefits – 1 per cent more than the rest of the South East (2.9 per cent), and 0.2 per cent less than the whole of the UK (3.7 per cent).
