Standing view · labour_market · Mole Valley
improving, held with established confidence, formed on 5 October 2026 from movements in 2026-08.
The job market in Mole Valley has been getting stronger, on a thin margin. The claimant count was 900 in December 2025 and 960 in May 2026, both recorded as favourable against the usual pattern for their month, with claimants as a proportion of residents aged 16-64 at 1.7 in December 2025 also favourable. Against that, the count was 950 in January 2026, 995 in February, 1,000 in March, 975 in July and 985 in August 2026, each unfavourable. Three favourable readings against five, with the recent months unfavourable, makes this one to watch.
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 Mole Valley. 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 |
| Claimant count | 2026-02 | deteriorating |
| Claimant count | 2026-03 | deteriorating |
| Claimant count | 2026-05 | improving |
| Claimant count | 2026-07 | deteriorating |
| Claimant count | 2026-08 | deteriorating |