The Datum Report

Standing view · labour_market · Rutland

The number claiming unemployment benefits in Rutland has been rising, though other measures here have run the other way.

mixed, held with tentative confidence, formed on 31 August 2026 from movements in 2026-07.

The employment rate in Rutland fell to 74.3% in the year to March 2026 and economic inactivity rose to 24.8%, while the modelled unemployment rate rose to 3.4%. The claimant count improved to 400 in January 2026 and 415 in March, then rose to 435 in February, 425 in May and 445 in July. On a count of a few hundred, movements of ten or twenty are the smallest steps this series publishes.

How this was decided

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 Rutland. Where no figure supports a direction we hold no view rather than a hedged one.

The 8 measures that formed this view

MeasurePeriodDirection
Claimant count2026-01improving
Claimant count2026-02deteriorating
Employment rate - aged 16-642026-03deteriorating
% who are economically inactive - aged 16-642026-03deteriorating
Claimant count2026-03improving
Unemployment rate (model based)2026-03deteriorating
Claimant count2026-05deteriorating
Claimant count2026-07deteriorating