Labour market statistics

The latest summary Claimant Count and unemployment statistics for our City and County are:

Claimant Count total* (11 July 2024): 5,585; rate: 3.8%

Change (month): +305 (+5.8%); (year): +455 (+8.9%).

Unemployment estimate** (survey year to March 2024): 4,400; rate: 3.6%  

Change (year): -400 (-8.3%).  95% confidence interval (year to Mar-24): +/-1,200 (people); +/-1.0% (rate).

Our latest quarterly Labour Market Statistics (PDF) [490KB] bulletin summarises the local and national data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in July 2024.

Page 1 includes a brief statistical summary of Swansea's labour market (for the survey period ending March 2024) and the Claimant Count unemployment data for the City & County of Swansea, the Travel to Work Area, local Senedd Cymru Constituency Areas and equivalent Wales and UK figures as at 13 June 2024, together with the seasonally adjusted claimant count data (Wales and UK only).  Page 2 of the bulletin includes the Claimant Count data for Swansea's Electoral Wards, ranked in order of unemployment rate (high to low).

The latest national statistics for a range of key labour market and economic variables are available via the ONS website links below:

• UK Labour Market, including economic activity and employment, vacancies, earnings
• Regional Labour Market - Wales
• UK Consumer Price Inflation
• Retail Sales (GB)
• Quarterly National Accounts, including Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Further local and national labour market and economic data is also available in the Swansea Economic Profile.  If you have any further enquiries regarding local labour market and economic statistics, please contact us.

Notes

* The Claimant Count measures the number of people who are receiving a benefit principally for the reason of being unemployed.  From April 2015, the Claimant Count has included all Universal Credit (UC) claimants who are required to search for work, as well as all Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) claimants.  The claimant rate is expressed as a proportion of the resident working age population, defined as all people aged 16-64.  A broader span of UC claimants are required to look for work than under JSA.  These claimants have the effect of increasing the Claimant Count and affecting its reliability as an economic indicator.  It no longer has National Statistics status and is labelled an 'official statistic in development' by ONS.

** Model-based estimates of unemployment are based on Annual Population Survey (APS) and Claimant Count data.  The estimate is for the 12-month period prior to the given date.  The rate is the number unemployed divided by the economically active population aged 16 and over.

Data source: Claimant Count and Annual Population Survey, ONS and Nomis.