Figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that 2,865 people on the Isle of Wight were claiming ‘out of work benefits’ (this is the wording defined by ONS) during August 2025 – this number also includes figures of those who have been switched from Tax Credits to Universal Credit.
That’s 20 fewer than in July 2025, when there were 2,885 claimants, and a fall of 260 from August 2024 (when there were 3,125 claimants).
Breakdown of claimants
Of those claiming in August 2025:
- 1,625 were male
- 1,240 were female
- 5 were 16-17
- 580 were aged 18 To 24
- 345 were aged 18 To 21
- 1,570 were aged 25 To 49
- 715 were aged 50+
National comparison
That means 3.6 per cent of the resident population of area aged 16-64 is claiming out of work benefits – 0.4 per cent more than the rest of the South East (3.2 per cent), and 0.4 per cent less than the whole of the UK (4.0 per cent).
