Figures published by the Office for National Statistics show that 2,905 people in the Isle of Wight area were claiming ‘out of work benefits’ (wording defined by ONS) during December 2022 – these figures also include Universal Credit figures.
That’s a rise of 115 since November 2022, when there were 2,790 claimants, and a fall of 430 from December 2021 (3,335 JSA claimants).
Breakdown of claimants
Of those claiming in December 2022:
- 1,660 were male (1,625 last month)
- 1,245 were female (1,165 last month)
- 5 were 16-17
- 525 were aged 18 To 24 (465 last month)
- 310 were aged 18 To 21 (285 last month)
- 1,630 were aged 25 To 49 (1,590 last month)
- 745 were aged 50+ (730 last month)
That means 3.7 per cent of the resident population of area aged 16-64 is claiming out of work benefits – 0.8 per cent more than the rest of the South East (2.9 per cent), and the same as the whole of the UK (3.7 per cent).
Image: dragontomato under CC BY 2.0
