Standing view · labour_market · Herefordshire, County of
mixed, held with tentative confidence, formed on 5 October 2026 from movements in 2026-08.
The share who are economically inactive in Herefordshire, County of has been falling, though other measures here have run the other way. Those aged 16-64 who are economically inactive was 13.5 in the year to March 2026, recorded as favourable against the usual pattern for its period, with the claimant count at 2,635 in December 2025 and claimants as a proportion of residents aged 16-64 at 2.4 in the same month, also favourable. Against that, the count was 2,730 in January 2026, 2,895 in March and 2,830 in June, and the proportion 2.7 in March, all unfavourable. Of the inactive, 35.7 were long-term sick.
A view is formed only where the evidence names a figure you can check. Each movement listed as a reason had to be large enough to matter and distinctive in at least one way — unusual against this area's own history, unusual against comparable areas, or sustained over several periods. A movement shared with peers counts for less, because it says something about the country rather than about Herefordshire, County of. Where no figure supports a direction we hold no view rather than a hedged one.
| Measure | Period | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Claimant count | 2025-12 | improving |
| Claimants as a proportion of residents aged 16-64 | 2025-12 | improving |
| Claimant count | 2026-01 | deteriorating |
| % who are economically inactive - aged 16-64 | 2026-03 | improving |
| Claimant count | 2026-03 | deteriorating |
| Claimants as a proportion of residents aged 16-64 | 2026-03 | deteriorating |
| Claimant count | 2026-06 | deteriorating |
These figures carry no defensible direction of their own: a rising house price is good news to an owner and bad news to someone trying to buy, so we do not score one as an improvement. They are shown because they are part of the picture, and they did not decide the view above.
| Measure | Period | Series |
|---|---|---|
| % of economically inactive long-term sick | 2026-03 | rising |