Figures published by the Office for National Statistics show that 1,605 people in the Isle of Wight area were claiming ‘out of work benefits’ during December 2016.
The figures show rise of 140 since November 2016, when there were 1,465 claimants, and a fall of 95 from December 2015 (1,700 JSA claimants).
Of those claiming in December 2016,
- 1060 were male
- 545 were female
- 380 were aged 18 To 24
- (235 were aged 18 To 21)
- 790 were aged 25 To 49
- 435 were aged 50+
That means 2.0% of the resident population of area aged 16-64 is claiming out of work benefits – 0.9% more than the rest of the South East (1.1%), and 0.2% more than the whole of the UK (1.8%).
New measures
The measure of those receiving ‘out of work benefit’s has been changed by the Office of National Statistics. In the past it was based purely on those claiming Job Seekers Allowance.
The change now includes Universal Credit and is still experimental, so ONS says, will not necessarily be a true reflection of the situation.
They say,
The Claimant Count is the number of people claiming benefit principally for the reason of being unemployed.
This is measured by combining the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) and National Insurance credits with the number of people receiving Universal Credit principally for the reason of being unemployed. Claimants declare that they are out of work, capable of, available for and actively seeking work during the week in which the claim is made.
The measure of the number of people receiving Universal Credit principally for the reason of being unemployed is still being developed by the Department for Work and Pensions.
Consequently this component of the total Claimant Count does not yet correctly reflect the target population of unemployed claimants and is subject to revisions. For this reason the Claimant Count is currently designated as Experimental Statistics.
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