Figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that 3,185 people on the Isle of Wight were claiming ‘out of work benefits’ (wording defined by ONS) during January 2024 – these figures also include Universal Credit figures.
That’s a rise of 145 since December 2023, when there were 3,040 claimants, and a rise of 230 from January 2023 (2,955 JSA claimants).
Breakdown of claimants
Of those claiming in January 2024:
- 1,775 were male
- 1,410 were female
- 10 were 16-17
- 630 were aged 18 To 24
- 375 were aged 18 To 21
- 1,705 were aged 25 To 49
- 740 were aged 50+
National comparison
That means 4.0 per cent of the resident population of area aged 16-64 is claiming out of work benefits – 1.1 per cent more than the rest of the South East (2.9 per cent), and 0.3 per cent more than the whole of the UK (3.7 per cent).
