Hillingdon Claimant Count Hits 10,935, Highest Since June 2025

10,935 people in Hillingdon were claiming benefits mainly because they were out of work in September. That is 5.0% of residents aged 16 to 64, and the borough’s highest monthly count since June 2025.

The count rose by 245 on August. It is 185 higher than in September last year. The Office for National Statistics published the figures through nomis on Tuesday 20 October. (ONS claimant count via nomis)

Young claimants: the highest in five years

The total has barely moved in a year. The age split underneath it has. Compared with September 2025:

• Aged 16 to 24: 1,860 claimants, up 205. That is the most since August 2021, when the count was 1,865 and still falling back from the pandemic.
• Aged 25 to 49: 6,360 claimants, down 205.
• Aged 50 and over: 2,720 claimants, up 190. That is the most for this age group since September 2021.

So claims in mid-career are falling, while claims at the start and end of working life are rising. Under-25s now make up about one in six of everyone claiming in the borough.

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The September figure for under-25s has now risen four years running. From 1,170 in September 2022 it has climbed to 1,860, an increase of 690, or 59%.

We first reported the rise in August, when claims by 18 to 24-year-olds hit a five-year high. It has continued since.

August was revised down

Last month we reported an August count of 10,860. In the new release, ONS has revised August to 10,690. The latest month is always provisional and is often revised. So the September total is a genuine 15-month high, but the jump from August is bigger than the two published headlines suggest. We have added a note to our August story.

Where Hillingdon sits in London

Hillingdon’s rate of 5.0% compares with:

Seventeen London boroughs have a higher rate, Hounslow is level on 5.0%, and fourteen are lower.

• Neighbours: Ealing 6.5%, Hounslow 5.0%, Harrow 4.9%
• Highest: Newham and Barking and Dagenham, both 7.5%, then Haringey on 7.4%
• Lowest: the City of London on 1.1%, then Richmond upon Thames on 2.6% and Kingston upon Thames on 3.2%

London’s rate has not moved in a year. Hillingdon’s has edged up, in line with the country as a whole.

What the number is, and is not

The claimant count is not the unemployment rate. ONS calls it “a measure of the number of people claiming benefits principally for the reason of being unemployed”, and says it “does not attempt to measure unemployment”. (ONS)

That matters in two ways. Full-time students and most under-18s cannot claim, so some people out of work are missing. And some people in low-paid part-time work are included, because Universal Credit can require them to look for more hours.

What it means for you

If you are looking for work, the council lists local help on its employment support page. It includes careers advice through Learn Hillingdon, the Jobs in Hillingdon listings, and construction jobs linked to building sites in the borough. There is separate support for people with a disability, a health condition or mental health issues.

If you are 16 to 24, the council’s youth service is holding free drop-ins over half term, at Northwood Hills Library on 26 October, The Chimes on 27 October and South Ruislip Library on 29 October. They are about the Hillingdon Youth Offer, and are listed on our October half term page.

For the borough’s other money numbers, see our Uxbridge house prices and council tax bands pages.

Sources

• ONS claimant count, dataset NM_162_1, Hillingdon, September 2024 to September 2026, via nomis, published 20 October 2026 (totals, rates, the revised August figure and the age bands; London borough, London and UK rates from the same table)
• ONS: Claimant Count Quality and Methodology Information
• Hillingdon Council: employment support for adults

ONS rounds the figures to the nearest five, so the age bands do not always add up exactly to the total.