Standing view · labour_market · Stirling
deteriorating, held with strong confidence, formed on 5 October 2026 from movements in 2026-08.
The job market in Stirling has been weakening, and the view is held strongly. The claimant count was 1,315 in December 2025, 1,365 in January 2026, 1,435 in March and 1,385 in August 2026, each recorded as unfavourable against the usual pattern for its month, with claimants as a proportion of residents aged 16-64 at 2.4 in March also unfavourable. The count of 1,390 in February 2026 was the one favourable reading. Five unfavourable readings against one, with the count ending well above where it started.
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 Stirling. Where no figure supports a direction we hold no view rather than a hedged one.
| Measure | Period | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Claimant count | 2025-12 | deteriorating |
| Claimant count | 2026-01 | deteriorating |
| Claimant count | 2026-02 | improving |
| Claimant count | 2026-03 | deteriorating |
| Claimants as a proportion of residents aged 16-64 | 2026-03 | deteriorating |
| Claimant count | 2026-08 | deteriorating |