Standing view · labour_market · Mid Devon
improving, held with established confidence, formed on 5 October 2026 from movements in 2026-08.
The job market in Mid Devon has been getting stronger, and the view rests on a run through the spring. The claimant count was 1,205 in March 2026 and 1,090 in May, both recorded as favourable against the usual pattern for their month, with claimants as a proportion of residents aged 16-64 at 2.4 in March, 2.2 in May and 2.2 again in July, all favourable, and the employment rate for those aged 16-64 at 86.2 in the year to March 2026, also favourable. Against that, the count was 1,220 in February 2026 and 1,120 in June, both unfavourable.
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 Mid Devon. Where no figure supports a direction we hold no view rather than a hedged one.
| Measure | Period | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Claimant count | 2026-02 | deteriorating |
| Employment rate - aged 16-64 | 2026-03 | improving |
| Claimant count | 2026-03 | improving |
| Claimants as a proportion of residents aged 16-64 | 2026-03 | improving |
| Claimant count | 2026-05 | improving |
| Claimants as a proportion of residents aged 16-64 | 2026-05 | improving |
| Claimant count | 2026-06 | deteriorating |
| Claimants as a proportion of residents aged 16-64 | 2026-07 | improving |