The Datum Report

Standing view · labour_market · Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire, and Renfrewshire

The number claiming unemployment benefits in Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire, and Renfrewshire 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 claimant count in Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire rose to 5,990 in February 2026, 6,095 in April and 6,105 in May, then 6,025 in June and 6,140 in July were recorded as favourable against the usual pattern for their months. Payrolled employees stood at 161,148 in February, 162,273 in May and 162,447 in June, with February and June recorded as unfavourable. The count ends the period above its February level while its seasonal reading improved.

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 Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire, and Renfrewshire. Where no figure supports a direction we hold no view rather than a hedged one.

The 8 measures that formed this view

MeasurePeriodDirection
Claimant count2026-02deteriorating
Payrolled employees2026-02deteriorating
Claimant count2026-04deteriorating
Claimant count2026-05deteriorating
Payrolled employees2026-05improving
Claimant count2026-06improving
Payrolled employees2026-06deteriorating
Claimant count2026-07improving