Figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that 3,110 people on the Isle of Wight were claiming ‘out of work benefits’ (this is the wording defined by ONS) during September 2024 – this number also includes figures of those being switched from Tax Credits to Universal Credit.
That’s a fall of 35 since August 2024, when there were 3,145 claimants, and a rise of 510 from September 2023 (2,600 claimants).
Breakdown of claimants
Of those claiming in September 2024:
- 1,670 were male
- 1,435 were female
- 5 were 16-17
- 510 were aged 18 To 24
- 305 were aged 18 To 21
- 1,735 were aged 25 To 49
- 860 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 – 0.6 per cent more than the rest of the South East (3.3 per cent), and 0.4 per cent less than the whole of the UK (4.3 per cent).
