Standing view · labour_market · Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire
improving, held with established confidence, formed on 5 October 2026 from movements in 2026-08.
Payrolled employees in Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire stood at 225,006 in April 2026, 225,942 in May, 226,635 in June and 226,471 in July, with only June recorded as unfavourable against the usual pattern for the month. The employment rate among those aged 16 to 64 was 76.8% in the year to March 2026, a favourable movement. The claimant count rose to 8,905 in March 2026 and 9,115 in August, and claimants as a proportion of residents aged 16 to 64 reached 2.9% in August 2026.
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 Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire. Where no figure supports a direction we hold no view rather than a hedged one.
| Measure | Period | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Employment rate - aged 16-64 | 2026-03 | improving |
| Claimant count | 2026-03 | deteriorating |
| Payrolled employees | 2026-04 | improving |
| Payrolled employees | 2026-05 | improving |
| Payrolled employees | 2026-06 | deteriorating |
| Payrolled employees | 2026-07 | improving |
| Claimant count | 2026-08 | deteriorating |
| Claimants as a proportion of residents aged 16-64 | 2026-08 | deteriorating |