Unemployment claimants to February 2021
Unemployment claimant count data (released 23 March 2021 by the Department of Work and Pensions) shows that the number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits in Oxfordshire increased between January and February 2021, from 16,155 to 17,260 (+6.8%).
By district in February 2021, the rate of unemployment claimants (as a percentage of the economically active population aged 16-64) was highest in Oxford City followed by Cherwell. By age group, the rate was highest in Oxfordshire (and England) for claimants aged 16-24.
Change in unemployment claimants Feb-20 to Feb-21
| Feb-20 | Feb-21 | Feb-20 to Feb-21 | |||
| count | rate* | count | rate* | ppt change | |
| Cherwell | 1,435 | 1.9% | 4,035 | 5.3% | 3.39 |
| Oxford | 2,085 | 3.0% | 4,920 | 7.0% | 4.03 |
| South Oxfordshire | 1,045 | 1.5% | 3,040 | 4.3% | 2.83 |
| Vale of White Horse | 1,095 | 1.6% | 2,830 | 4.1% | 2.54 |
| West Oxfordshire | 985 | 1.8% | 2,435 | 4.3% | 2.58 |
| Oxfordshire | 6,645 | 1.9% | 17,260 | 5.1% | 3.11 |
| England | 1,050,875 | 3.9% | 2,309,630 | 8.5% | 4.66 |
Unemployment claimants by age group Feb-21
| 16-24 | 25-49 | 50+ | ||||
| count | rate* | count | rate* | count | rate* | |
| Cherwell | 785 | 8.5% | 2,340 | 5.3% | 910 | 4.0% |
| Oxford | 855 | 6.7% | 2,960 | 7.3% | 1,105 | 6.9% |
| South Oxfordshire | 535 | 6.3% | 1,675 | 4.3% | 830 | 3.6% |
| Vale of White Horse | 510 | 6.0% | 1,620 | 4.2% | 695 | 3.3% |
| West Oxfordshire | 490 | 7.1% | 1,340 | 6.4% | 605 | 3.4% |
| Oxfordshire | 3,175 | 6.8% | 9,935 | 5.2% | 4,145 | 4.1% |
| England | 436,740 | 11.7% | 1,320,275 | 8.4% | 552,530 | 7.4% |
*per the economically active population (calculated as the ONS mid-2019 population estimate - aged 16-64 for the top table - multiplied by the proportion of the population that are economically active, as recorded by the 2011 Census); ppt=percentage point
Note that this does not include people on the Coronavirus Job Retention scheme, which is now due to finish at the end of September 2021. As of 31 December 2020, there were 37,300 furloughed employments in Oxfordshire, a take-up of 11% compared with 13% take-up across England.
Explore the latest unemployment data for Oxfordshire using our interactive dashboard.
Data downloaded from www.nomisweb.co.uk (23 March 2020); Furlough data from HMRC