Overview
- Department for Work and Pensions data for October show 4.0 million people classed as having no work requirements, up by more than 1.1 million year on year to 48.7% of the caseload.
- The total caseload rose by 159,654 between September and October, marking the biggest monthly increase since June 2020.
- The year-on-year rise of 1.1 million is the largest since the 12 months to April 2021, reflecting pandemic-era scale and speed.
- Claimants searching for work numbered 1.6 million and working claimants 2.2 million, with both figures broadly unchanged from a year earlier.
- A separate DWP breakdown shows 84.3% of claimants are British or Irish nationals or people without immigration restrictions, up from 82.9% a year earlier.