Brentwood's over-50s claimant count is up 12.7% in a year against England's 3.7%, and accounts for the borough's whole rise. The August total is 1,220.
1,220 people in Brentwood borough were claiming unemployment-related benefits in August, the latest month in the ONS claimant count. That is 2.5 per cent of residents aged 16 to 64, and 30 more people than in August last year.
A 30-person rise in a borough of this size is not, by itself, a story. Where those 30 people are is.
Claimants aged 50 and over rose by 35 over the year, from 275 to 310. That single age band more than accounts for the borough’s entire increase. Over the same twelve months the 25 to 49 band, the biggest of the three, went the other way and fell by 15.
What the age split shows
Year on year, to August 2026:
- Aged 50 and over: up 12.7 per cent in Brentwood, from 275 to 310
- Aged 25 to 49: down 2.1 per cent, from 720 to 705
- Aged 18 to 24: up 2.6 per cent, from 195 to 200
Set that against the national picture and the borough looks unusual. Across England the claimant count rose 1.8 per cent over the year, and the rise was concentrated in young people: the 18 to 24 band was up 9.4 per cent in England and 12.5 per cent across the East of England. England’s over-50s rose 3.7 per cent.
Brentwood has almost the mirror image. Its young claimant count barely moved, up five people in a year. Its over-50s rose more than three times faster than England’s.
The 50 and over band has been climbing for most of the past year rather than jumping in a single month. It stood at 275 in August 2025, reached 330 in May 2026, its highest point in the series we pulled, and has eased back to 310. The 25 to 49 band has been flat to falling across the same stretch.
The borough is still near the bottom of Essex
None of this makes Brentwood a high-unemployment area. At 2.5 per cent of working-age residents, the borough has the third lowest claimant rate of Essex’s twelve districts, and sits well below England’s 4.0 per cent.
| Area | Rate |
|---|---|
| Uttlesford | 2.0% |
| Rochford | 2.3% |
| Brentwood | 2.5% |
| Castle Point | 2.6% |
| Maldon | 2.6% |
| Chelmsford | 2.7% |
| Braintree | 2.7% |
| Epping Forest | 3.2% |
| Colchester | 3.2% |
| Basildon | 3.9% |
| England | 4.0% |
| Tendring | 4.1% |
| Harlow | 4.6% |
Only Uttlesford and Rochford are lower. Harlow, at 4.6 per cent, has nearly twice Brentwood’s rate. London, for comparison, is on 5.5 per cent.
What the claimant count actually measures
This figure is not the unemployment rate, and the difference matters when you read it.
The claimant count records people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, plus people on Universal Credit who are required to look for work. Someone working part time on a low income can be in it. Someone out of work but not required to seek it, or not claiming at all, is not.
Two more things to hold in mind:
- Every figure is rounded to the nearest five. A move of 5 in a ward or an age band can be rounding rather than real change.
- The count is not seasonally adjusted at this level. Month to month wobbles are normal, which is why the year-on-year comparison above is the one worth reading.
What it means for you
If you are over 50 and out of work in this borough, you are part of the group that is growing, and the one national policy is paying least attention to. Most of the current public argument about the labour market is about young people. In Brentwood, the young claimant count is flat and the older one is not.
Support is not age-specific, but some of it is targeted. The council’s Jobs, Skills and Volunteering Event at the Brentwood Centre on Wednesday 7 October runs from 11am to 3pm, and this year it adds a dedicated area for 18 to 24 year olds not in education, employment or training. There is no equivalent named provision for older jobseekers in the council’s announcement.
Watch the next two releases before concluding anything. The over-50s band peaked at 330 in May and has come down twice since. If it keeps easing, this is a bump. If it turns back up through the autumn, it is a trend.
Ward-level figures, which run from Shenfield at the bottom to the town-centre wards at the top, were set out in our June claimant count story. Borough house prices are tracked on our Brentwood house prices page.
Sources
- ONS claimant count via Nomis, dataset NM_162_1, Brentwood borough (E07000068), all ages and bands 18 to 24, 25 to 49 and 50 and over, August 2025 and August 2026, read 16 September 2026
- Nomis, claimants as a proportion of residents aged 16 to 64, Essex districts, England and London, August 2026
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