Figures published by the Office for National Statistics show that 2,580 people in the Isle of Wight area were claiming ‘out of work benefits’ (wording defined by ONS) during August 2023 – these figures also include Universal Credit figures.
That’s a rise of 25 since July 2023, when there were 2,555 claimants, and a rise of 10 from August 2022 (2,570 JSA claimants).
Breakdown of claimants
Of those claiming in August 2023:
- 1,485 were male (1,465 July 23)
- 1,095 were female (1,090 July 23)
- 5 were 16-17 (5 July 23)
- 455 were aged 18 To 24 (445 July 23)
- 260 were aged 18 To 21 (265 July 23)
- 1,440 were aged 25 To 49 (1,435 July 23)
- 680 were aged 50+ (675 July 23)
National comparison
That means 3.3 per cent of the resident population of area aged 16-64 is claiming out of work benefits – 0.5 per cent more than the rest of the South East (2.8 per cent), and 0.4 per cent less than the whole of the UK (3.7 per cent).
