The Datum Report

Standing view · labour_market · Nottingham

The number claiming unemployment benefits in Nottingham 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 proportion of Nottingham residents aged 16 to 64 claiming unemployment benefits moved within a narrow band: 5.9% in February 2026, 5.9% in April, 6% in May, 5.9% in June and 6% in July. The claimant count improved to 13,350 in December 2025, then rose to 13,865 in March 2026. Four of the seven readings were recorded as favourable, but the rate ends the period above where it began and the count rose.

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 Nottingham. Where no figure supports a direction we hold no view rather than a hedged one.

The 7 measures that formed this view

MeasurePeriodDirection
Claimant count2025-12improving
Claimants as a proportion of residents aged 16-642026-02improving
Claimant count2026-03deteriorating
Claimants as a proportion of residents aged 16-642026-04improving
Claimants as a proportion of residents aged 16-642026-05deteriorating
Claimants as a proportion of residents aged 16-642026-06improving
Claimants as a proportion of residents aged 16-642026-07deteriorating