Claims rose to 1,580 in July, and 75 of the 90 extra claimants were aged 50 or over. That is the steepest rise of Hampshire's 13 council areas, ONS figures show.
1,580 people in the East Hampshire district were claiming unemployment-related benefits in July 2026, up 90 on July last year, according to ONS figures published through nomis. That is 2.1% of residents aged 16 to 64, one of the lower rates in the country.
The rise is small. Where it landed is not. Split the district’s claimants by age and almost all of the year’s increase sits in one group:
- aged 50 and over: 385 to 460, up 75
- aged 18 to 24: 250 to 270, up 20
- aged 25 to 49: 855 to 850, down 5
Over-50s account for 75 of the 90 extra claimants. That is a 19.5% rise in a year, and it is the steepest of Hampshire’s 13 council areas.
The steepest in the county
Every Hampshire authority except one saw over-50 claims rise over the year. East Hampshire’s rise was the largest.
| Council area | July 2025 | July 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Hampshire | 385 | 460 | +19.5% |
| Eastleigh | 395 | 465 | +17.7% |
| Fareham | 300 | 345 | +15.0% |
| Gosport | 380 | 435 | +14.5% |
| Test Valley | 370 | 405 | +9.5% |
| Basingstoke and Deane | 735 | 800 | +8.8% |
| Rushmoor | 525 | 570 | +8.6% |
| Southampton | 1,525 | 1,635 | +7.2% |
| New Forest | 590 | 630 | +6.8% |
| Winchester | 440 | 465 | +5.7% |
| Portsmouth | 1,360 | 1,400 | +2.9% |
| Hart | 310 | 315 | +1.6% |
| Havant | 660 | 560 | -15.2% |
For scale: across the United Kingdom the over-50 claimant count rose from 382,715 to 389,730 over the same year, an increase of 1.8%. Across the South East it rose 5.8%, and across Hampshire county 7.3%. East Hampshire’s 19.5% is well above all three.
Where 460 sits historically
July’s 460 is the highest monthly figure for over-50 claimants in the district since February 2025, when it was 465. The line has climbed steadily since December 2025, when it stood at 395.
Over-50s now make up 29% of all claimants in East Hampshire, up from 26% a year ago.
Compare the July figures over a longer run and the shape is clearer. In July 2019, before the pandemic, 225 over-50s in the district were claiming. In July 2022 it was 375, in July 2023 it was 360, in July 2024 it was 470, and in July 2025 it fell back to 385. July 2026’s 460 undoes that fall almost entirely.
The under-25 line is rising too, but slower than the region
The district’s 18 to 24 claimant count went from 210 in July 2024 to 250 in 2025 and 270 in 2026: up 28.6% over two years. That is faster than the UK (+15.7%) and the South East (+21.7%), but it is only the fifth largest rise of Hampshire’s 13 areas. Hart’s under-25 count rose 60.9% over the same two years, New Forest’s 42.4% and Basingstoke and Deane’s 33.7%.
These are small numbers on a small base. A change of 20 claimants moves the percentage a long way, so read the counts rather than the percentages.
What it means for you
If you are over 50 and out of work in East Hampshire, you are not an outlier. Nearly a third of the district’s claimants are now in your age group, and the group grew faster here over the past year than anywhere else in Hampshire.
The district-wide rate is still low. At 2.1%, East Hampshire is fifth lowest of Hampshire’s 13 areas, behind Hart (1.8%) and level-ish with Fareham, Test Valley and Winchester (all 2.0%). Portsmouth is 4.4% and Southampton 4.2%.
If you are looking for support, East Hampshire District Council lists local employment and money advice on its cost of living pages.
What the claimant count is, and is not
This is not the unemployment rate. The claimant count measures people claiming unemployment-related benefits, mostly Universal Credit, and it includes some people who are in work but on low enough earnings to be subject to work-search conditions. The official unemployment rate is measured separately by survey and is not published at district level monthly.
The figures are not seasonally adjusted, so July always carries school and college leavers. That is why every comparison here is July against July.
ONS rounds these counts to the nearest five. On numbers this small that rounding is worth remembering before reading much into a change of ten.
Related
- Petersfield house prices, the other half of the local cost picture.
- Petersfield planning news: what is being built in and around the town.
Sources
- ONS claimant count by age, via nomis, dataset NM_162_1, for the East Hampshire totals and the 18 to 24, 25 to 49 and 50 and over splits for July 2019 to July 2026, and for the Hampshire, South East and United Kingdom comparisons. Queried at geography E07000085 with gender=0 and age codes 0, 11, 3 and 4.
- nomis claimant count proportions, for the 2.1% of residents aged 16 to 64 and the comparable rates for the other 12 Hampshire authorities.
- East Hampshire District Council cost of living support.
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