1,730 people in Horsham district were claiming unemployment-related benefits in June 2026, the ONS claimant count shows. At 2.0% of working-age residents, the district's rate is far below the South East's 3.1% and the UK's 3.9%.
1,730 people in Horsham district were claiming unemployment-related benefits in June, according to the Office for National Statistics claimant count. That is 2.0 per cent of residents aged 16 to 64, and it extends a remarkably flat run: the district’s count has stayed within a band of 80 people for thirteen straight months. (ONS claimant count, published via Nomis)
The claimant count records people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance plus those on Universal Credit who are required to look for work. It is not the full unemployment measure, but it is the only jobs figure published every month at district level, which makes it the best regular signal of how the local labour market is moving.
A flat year while the national picture worsened
The monthly figures from June 2025 to June 2026 run 1,710; 1,695; 1,715; 1,735; 1,720; 1,710; 1,720; 1,735; 1,770; 1,775; 1,740; 1,695; and 1,730. The year’s high was 1,775 in March 2026 and the low 1,695, touched in both July 2025 and May 2026. June’s 1,730 is just 20 higher than a year earlier, a rise of about one per cent. (Nomis, claimant count for Horsham, retrieved 6 August 2026)
That stability stands out against the wider picture. Horsham’s 2.0 per cent claimant rate in June compares with 3.1 per cent across the South East and 3.9 per cent for the United Kingdom, on the same ONS measure: roughly one in 50 working-age residents here, against nearly one in 25 nationally.
What it means for you
For anyone job-hunting locally, a low and stable claimant count cuts both ways: there is less competition from other claimants than in most of the country, but a labour market this tight can also mean fewer people moving between jobs. If you have lost work or your hours have been cut, the main route into support is Universal Credit, claimed online. Low-income households can also apply for Council Tax Reduction, administered by Horsham District Council, which cuts the bill rather than paying cash; our guide to council tax bands in Horsham explains how the underlying bill is set.
The July figures are due from the ONS in mid-August; we will report them when they are published.
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