Standing view · labour_market · Suffolk
deteriorating, held with strong confidence, formed on 5 October 2026 from movements in 2026-08.
The job market in Suffolk has been weakening, and the view is held strongly. The claimant count was 12,830 in December 2025, 13,700 in February 2026 and 13,370 in May, each recorded as unfavourable against the usual pattern for its month, with claimants as a proportion of residents aged 16-64 at 3 in February and the unemployment rate for those aged 16-64 at 3.7 in the year to March 2026, also unfavourable. Running the other way, the count was 13,015 in January 2026 and 13,150 in July, and the proportion 2.9 in April, all 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 Suffolk. Where no figure supports a direction we hold no view rather than a hedged one.
| Measure | Period | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Claimant count | 2025-12 | deteriorating |
| Claimant count | 2026-01 | improving |
| Claimant count | 2026-02 | deteriorating |
| Claimants as a proportion of residents aged 16-64 | 2026-02 | deteriorating |
| Unemployment rate - aged 16-64 | 2026-03 | deteriorating |
| Claimants as a proportion of residents aged 16-64 | 2026-04 | improving |
| Claimant count | 2026-05 | deteriorating |
| Claimant count | 2026-07 | improving |