2,455 people in Warwick district claimed jobless benefits in September, the most since 2021. Claims by 18 to 24 year olds are up 25% in a year.
2,455 people in Warwick district were claiming unemployment-related benefits in September. That is the highest monthly count since November 2021, when it was 2,460.
Young people account for most of the rise. There were 520 claimants aged 18 to 24, up 105 on September last year. That is an increase of 25.3%, against 10.6% across the UK.
The figures are the ONS claimant count for September 2026. They were published on 20 October and taken from nomis.
The key numbers
- 2,455 claimants in Warwick district, 2.5% of residents aged 16 to 64
- Up 65 in a month (2.7%), against 2.1% across the UK
- Up 175 in a year (7.7%), against 2.8% across the UK
- 520 claimants aged 18 to 24, the most since June 2021
- 105 of the 175 extra claimants over the year are aged 18 to 24, six in every ten
Young claimant numbers have not fallen since March
The 18 to 24 count sat between 415 and 430 from September 2025 to April 2026. Since then it has risen every month bar one, from 430 in April to 520 in September.
We reported the same pattern for July and for August. September makes it the clearest it has been.
| Age | September 2025 | September 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 to 24 | 415 | 520 | +105 |
| 25 to 29 | 250 | 270 | +20 |
| 30 to 34 | 250 | 250 | 0 |
| 35 to 39 | 315 | 305 | -10 |
| 40 to 44 | 290 | 275 | -15 |
| 45 to 49 | 220 | 235 | +15 |
| 50 to 54 | 195 | 195 | 0 |
| 55 to 59 | 165 | 190 | +25 |
| 60 to 64 | 145 | 160 | +15 |
Within the 18 to 24 group, 325 claimants were aged 18 to 21, up from 260 a year ago. The age bands are each rounded to the nearest five, so they do not add exactly to the district total.
How Warwick district compares with the rest of Warwickshire
All five districts in the county rose faster than the UK over the year.
| District | September 2025 | September 2026 | Change | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Warwickshire | 1,035 | 1,215 | +17.4% | 3.0% |
| Rugby | 2,055 | 2,245 | +9.2% | 2.9% |
| Stratford-on-Avon | 1,690 | 1,845 | +9.2% | 2.2% |
| Warwick | 2,280 | 2,455 | +7.7% | 2.5% |
| Nuneaton and Bedworth | 3,560 | 3,705 | +4.1% | 4.3% |
| Warwickshire | 10,620 | 11,465 | +8.0% | 3.0% |
| United Kingdom | 1,657,110 | 1,702,905 | +2.8% | 3.9% |
Warwick district’s rate of 2.5% is below the county’s 3.0%, the West Midlands’ 5.4% and the UK’s 3.9%. Only Stratford-on-Avon has a lower rate in Warwickshire.
Where claimants live
Rates across the district’s 17 wards run from 3.8% down to 1.5%. The five highest are all in Leamington and Warwick:
- Leamington Brunswick: 3.8% (295 claimants)
- Warwick Aylesford: 3.3% (145)
- Warwick All Saints and Woodloes: 3.2% (185)
- Leamington Clarendon: 3.1% (245)
- Warwick Saltisford: 2.8% (135)
The lowest are Cubbington and Leek Wootton and Kenilworth Abbey and Arden, both at 1.5%, and Kenilworth St John’s at 1.7%.
Leamington Brunswick has had the highest rate in the district in each of the last three months. Ward counts are rounded to the nearest five, so the 17 wards add up to 2,460 rather than 2,455.
August’s figure has been revised down
Last month nomis gave August’s district count as 2,425. It now gives 2,390, a downward revision of 35. The August figure for 18 to 24 year olds has not changed at 495.
The ONS says the latest month is provisional and subject to revision. So September’s 2,455 may also come down next month. A revision the size of August’s would leave it at 2,420. That would still be higher than any month from January 2022 to August 2026.
What it means for you
The claimant count is not the unemployment rate. It counts people on Jobseeker’s Allowance, plus people on Universal Credit who must look for work to keep the benefit. Some of them work limited hours. Some unemployed people do not claim, so they are not counted. The ONS says the measure does not attempt to measure unemployment.
What it does show is that more people in Leamington, Warwick and Kenilworth are being asked by the benefits system to look for work than at any point in almost five years. The rise is steepest among those aged 18 to 24, and it has sped up since the spring.
- Ward-level figures for your own area are free to look up on nomis, updated monthly.
- The next release is due in November, with October’s figures.
Sources
- ONS claimant count, via nomis, dataset “Claimant count by sex and age” (NM_162_1), for every figure quoted: the Warwick district monthly counts from 2020 to September 2026, the rate as a share of residents aged 16 to 64, the age breakdown for September 2025 and September 2026, the monthly 18 to 24 counts, the five Warwickshire districts, Warwickshire, the West Midlands and the UK, and the 17 ward counts and rates for September 2026. Counts are rounded to the nearest five.
- Labour market overview, UK: October 2026, Office for National Statistics, for the 20 October 2026 release date and the statement that the latest month’s claimant count is provisional.
- Claimant count methodology, Office for National Statistics, for what the measure includes and why it is not the unemployment rate.
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