Figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that 2,885 people on the Isle of Wight were claiming ‘out of work benefits’ (this is the wording defined by ONS) during July 2025 – this number also includes figures of those who have been switched from Tax Credits to Universal Credit.
That’s 70 fewer than in June 2025, when there were 2,955 claimants, and a fall of 170 from July 2024 (when there were 3,125 claimants).
Breakdown of claimants
Of those claiming in July 2025:
- 1,650 were male
- 1,305 were female
- 5 were 16-17
- 580 were aged 18 To 24
- 345 were aged 18 To 21
- 1,610 were aged 25 To 49
- 755 were aged 50+
National comparison
That means 3.8 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 (3.2 per cent), and 0.3 per cent less than the whole of the UK (4.1 per cent).
