Northumberland's claimant count held at 5,355 in July, or 2.8% of working-age adults. One Blyth ward records 7.9%, a Tyne Valley ward 0.8%.

Northumberland’s claimant count barely moved in July. Behind the county figure sits a gap of almost ten to one between its wards.

There were 5,355 people claiming unemployment-related benefits in the county in July 2026, 2.8% of residents aged 16 to 64, according to ONS figures published through nomis. A year earlier the count was 5,290, also 2.8%.

The Office for National Statistics now breaks that figure down to all 69 Northumberland wards. We pulled the ward table for July, and the 69 wards add to exactly 5,355.

Five of the six highest wards are in Blyth

The highest rate in the county is in Croft, one of Blyth’s wards, where 280 people claim, or 7.9% of working-age residents. That is roughly one in thirteen.

The six highest wards were:

  • Croft, Blyth: 7.9%, 280 claimants
  • Isabella, Blyth: 6.6%, 210
  • Hirst, Ashington: 6.0%, 210
  • Cowpen, Blyth: 5.8%, 205
  • Newsham, Blyth: 5.4%, 200
  • Wensleydale, Blyth: 5.1%, 140

Five of those six are Blyth wards. We checked which town each ward sits in against the ONS postcode record rather than assume it, using the postcodes.io service, which is built from that record.

The lowest rates are in the Tyne Valley and around Ponteland:

  • Stocksfield and Bywell: 0.8%, 20 claimants
  • Cramlington North: 0.9%, 25
  • Ponteland South with Heddon: 0.9%, 20
  • South Tynedale: 0.9%, 25
  • Longhorsley: 1.0%, 25

Stocksfield and Bywell sits in the Tyne Valley, at the other end of the county from Blyth. Its rate is a tenth of Croft’s.

These are not artefacts of tiny populations. Dividing each ward’s count by its rate implies a working-age population of roughly 3,500 in Croft and 2,500 in Stocksfield and Bywell. The wards are broadly comparable in size.

Claimant rate by Northumberland ward, July 2026, highest and lowest Bar chart of claimants as a percentage of residents aged 16 to 64 in Northumberland wards in July 2026. The six highest are Croft in Blyth at 7.9 per cent, Isabella in Blyth at 6.6, Hirst in Ashington at 6.0, Cowpen in Blyth at 5.8, Newsham in Blyth at 5.4 and Wensleydale in Blyth at 5.1. The county figure is 2.8 per cent. The five lowest are Longhorsley at 1.0, Cramlington North at 0.9, Ponteland South with Heddon at 0.9, South Tynedale at 0.9 and Stocksfield and Bywell at 0.8. One ward in Blyth, one in the Tyne Valley, ten times apart Claimants as a percentage of residents aged 16 to 64, July 2026. The six highest and five lowest of Northumberland's 69 wards. Croft (Blyth) 7.9% Isabella (Blyth) 6.6% Hirst (Ashington) 6.0% Cowpen (Blyth) 5.8% Newsham (Blyth) 5.4% Wensleydale (Blyth) 5.1% NORTHUMBERLAND 2.8% Longhorsley 1.0% Cramlington North 0.9% Ponteland South with Heddon 0.9% South Tynedale 0.9% Stocksfield and Bywell 0.8% Source: ONS claimant count via nomis, July 2026. Not seasonally adjusted. Counts are rounded to the nearest five. The claimant count is not the unemployment rate. It includes some people in work on low earnings. Graphic by The Northumberland Post
The highest and lowest claimant rates among Northumberland's 69 wards, July 2026.

One Blyth ward sits well outside the pattern. South Blyth records 1.2%, with 40 claimants, which is below the county figure and a long way below its neighbours in the same town.

The county total is flat, but young claims are not

The headline number has hardly shifted for a year. Look at it by age and it has been moving underneath.

Northumberland claimant count by age, July of each year
AgeJuly 2024July 2025July 2026
16 to 241,1401,1551,240
25 to 493,4102,8702,820
50 and over1,5801,2651,300
All ages 16+6,1305,2905,355

The county total is 775 lower than it was two years ago. The number of claimants under 25 is 100 higher.

That divergence is not unusual here. Across the North East, claims from under-25s rose 7.4% in the year to July, the same rate as Northumberland. Across the UK they rose 9.7%, so the county’s young claimant rise is slightly milder than the national one rather than worse.

What has changed since January

Ward figures only begin in January 2026, so there is no year-ago comparison at this level. The six months that do exist show the county standing still while individual places move.

The county went from 5,345 claimants in January to 5,355 in July. Within that:

  • Croft in Blyth rose by 30, from 250 to 280, the largest increase of any ward
  • Berwick East fell by 20, from 100 to 80, and Berwick North fell by 20, from 85 to 65
  • Isabella and Wensleydale, both in Blyth, each fell by 15

What it means for you

The claimant count is not the unemployment rate. It counts people claiming Universal Credit who are required to look for work, plus the remaining Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants. That includes some people who are in work but on low earnings. It excludes people who are out of work but not claiming.

July figures always run warm. These numbers are not seasonally adjusted, and July picks up school and college leavers who have signed on. Compare July with July, as the table above does, not with June.

The figures are rounded. ONS rounds ward counts to the nearest five, so small wards carry more rounding error than the percentage suggests.

If you are claiming or about to, the government’s find a jobcentre tool gives the nearest office and its opening hours from a postcode.

The ward pattern is worth setting beside the county’s other headline this month. Northumberland’s average house price hit a record £213,452 in June and rose faster than any other district in England. The places driving that average, Ponteland, Corbridge and the Tyne Valley, are the same places at the bottom of this table. Our house prices page sets out the sold-price gap between Ponteland and Ashington in full.

Sources

  • Claimant count, ONS via nomis, dataset NM_162_1, July 2026. Ward figures use the May 2025 ward boundaries. County, regional, age-band and ward tables all queried from this source.
  • postcodes.io, built on the ONS postcode directory, used to confirm which town each ward sits in.
  • Find a jobcentre, Department for Work and Pensions.