Harborough claimant count: 1,050 in June, 1.7% vs UK's 3.9%

1,050 people across Harborough district were claiming unemployment-related benefits in June, according to the Office for National Statistics claimant count. That is 1.7 per cent of residents aged 16 to 64, well under half the UK rate of 3.9 per cent and far below the East Midlands average of 3.5 per cent. (ONS claimant count, published via Nomis)

The claimant count records people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance plus those on Universal Credit who are required to look for work. It is not the full unemployment measure, but it is the only jobs figure published every month at district level, which makes it the best regular signal of how the labour market is moving across Market Harborough, Lutterworth, Kibworth, Broughton Astley and the villages. The ONS rounds each figure to the nearest five.

A flat year, with a winter bump that has faded

The monthly figures from June 2025 to June 2026 run 1,085; 1,055; 1,065; 1,090; 1,075; 1,050; 1,065; 1,095; 1,140; 1,100; 1,065; 1,030; 1,050. The count spent most of the year in a narrow band either side of 1,065, rose to a peak of 1,140 in February 2026, then fell back through the spring to the year’s low of 1,030 in May. June’s 1,050 is 20 higher than May but 35 lower than the same month last year. With figures rounded to the nearest five on a base this small, moves of that size are drift rather than a trend. (Nomis, claimant count for Harborough, retrieved 12 August 2026)

The age pattern shifted more than the total did. Claimants aged 18 to 24 rose from 180 in June 2025 to 215 in June 2026, an increase of 35, while those aged 25 to 49 fell from 625 to 560 and those aged 50 and over held steady at 275. Roughly one claimant in five is now under 25, so the district’s small overall fall conceals a rise among its youngest jobseekers, matching the national picture of a labour market that has become hardest to enter at the start of a working life.

Even so, Harborough remains a comparatively easy place to be looking for work. At 1.7 per cent, about one working-age resident in 59 here is claiming, against one in 29 across the East Midlands and one in 26 nationally on the same measure.

What it means for you

For local jobseekers the numbers cut both ways: there is far less claimant competition here than across the region, but the rise among under-25s means school and college leavers are finding it slower going than the headline suggests. If you have lost work or your hours have been cut, the main route into support is Universal Credit, claimed online, and low-income households can also apply for Council Tax Reduction, which cuts the bill rather than paying cash.

A steady jobs market is also part of what keeps the local property market moving; our Market Harborough house prices page tracks what homes across the district actually sell for. The July figures are due from the ONS later this month; we will report them when they appear on Nomis.