Under-25 claims in Hillingdon hit a five-year high

The number of young people claiming unemployment-related benefits in Hillingdon has reached its highest level in almost five years, even though the borough’s overall claimant count has hardly shifted.

In July 2026 there were 1,770 claimants aged 18 to 24 in the borough. That is the highest monthly figure since August 2021, when the count was still falling back from the pandemic. (ONS claimant count, dataset NM_162_1, via nomis)

The borough total tells a very different story. Hillingdon recorded 10,820 claimants of all ages in July 2026, against 10,800 in July 2025. That is a rise of 20 people, or 0.2%, across a year. It works out at 4.9% of residents aged 16 to 64.

The total is flat because two groups are moving in opposite directions

Comparing July with July, which is the only fair comparison because these figures are not seasonally adjusted:

Source: ONS claimant count via nomis, dataset NM_162_1. Figures are rounded to the nearest five, so the age bands do not always sum exactly to the total.

The 25 to 49 group is the largest by some distance, and it has been falling: down 220 in the last year alone. That fall has masked the rise underneath it. Without it, the borough’s headline number would have gone up rather than stayed still.

Hillingdon’s youth rise is steeper than London’s

Every part of the country has seen young claimants increase. Hillingdon’s increase is faster than the average.

• Hillingdon, July 2024 to July 2026: +20.0%
• London: +14.2%
• United Kingdom: +15.7%

Set against the 32 London boroughs outside the City of London, Hillingdon has the tenth-steepest two-year rise, effectively level with Newham. Kingston upon Thames is top on +31.0%, followed by Greenwich (+28.1%), Bexley (+27.0%) and Bromley (+23.9%). Only two boroughs saw a fall: Kensington and Chelsea, and Westminster.

Across London as a whole the number of 18 to 24-year-old claimants went from 46,120 in July 2024 to 52,665 in July 2026. (nomis, London boroughs, dataset NM_162_1)

What the figure does and does not measure

The claimant count is not the unemployment rate, and it is easy to read too much into it.

• It counts people claiming Universal Credit who are required to look for work, plus the small number still on Jobseeker’s Allowance. Some of them are in work but on low enough earnings to remain under work-search conditions.
• The figures are not seasonally adjusted. July always includes school and college leavers who have signed on but not yet found work, which is why the comparison here is July against July rather than July against June.
• ONS rounds every figure to the nearest five.
• It is a count of claims, not of everyone out of work. People who are unemployed but not eligible or not claiming do not appear.

What it means for you

If you are 18 to 24 and out of work in the borough, Hillingdon Council runs a dedicated support offer rather than a single scheme. Its young people employment support and training pages cover the Hillingdon Post 16 Prospectus, apprenticeships, Project SEARCH, the School Work Experience Programme and learning and work support. There is a separate adult learning and career development route, and free English, maths, ESOL and digital skills courses.

The council also agreed a ten-year economic strategy last month. Cabinet signed off “Hillingdon Our Vision for Growth” on 23 July 2026, a plan running to 2036 built on three pillars it calls Innovate, Connect and Thrive. The Connect pillar commits to “aligning skills with emerging industries, and ensuring residents can access local opportunities and benefit from investment linked to major organisations, like Heathrow Airport”. (Hillingdon Council, 24 July 2026)

The plan does not carry a target for youth unemployment, so there is no published number to hold it to yet. The next monthly claimant figures, for August 2026, are due from ONS in mid-September.

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