Standing view · labour_market · Redditch
mixed, held with tentative confidence, formed on 5 October 2026 from movements in 2026-08.
The share who are self employed in Redditch has been falling, though other measures here have run the other way. In the year to March 2026, 4.3 of those aged 16-64 were self employed, while those economically inactive was 18 and recorded as favourable against the usual pattern for its period. The claimant count was 2,090 in March 2026 and 2,080 in May, both unfavourable, with claimants as a proportion of residents aged 16-64 at 3.8 in May and 3.8 again in July, also unfavourable; the count was 2,030 in June and the proportion 3.7, both favourable.
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 Redditch. Where no figure supports a direction we hold no view rather than a hedged one.
| Measure | Period | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| % who are economically inactive - aged 16-64 | 2026-03 | improving |
| Claimant count | 2026-03 | deteriorating |
| Claimant count | 2026-05 | deteriorating |
| Claimants as a proportion of residents aged 16-64 | 2026-05 | deteriorating |
| Claimant count | 2026-06 | improving |
| Claimants as a proportion of residents aged 16-64 | 2026-06 | improving |
| Claimants as a proportion of residents aged 16-64 | 2026-07 | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| % aged 16-64 who are self employed | 2026-03 | falling |