Historical trend
Trend summary
Claimant count was 1.7m in 2026-06, up from 1.7m in 2026-05.
Trend
- Over the available record (1971-01–2026-06), it has ranged from 422,600 in 1973-12 to 3.1m in 1986-07.
- The latest reading is above the record average of 1.6m.
Generated from the published series — describes direction, magnitude and range only, with no editorial judgement or forecasts.