5,920 people in Cheshire West and Chester claimed unemployment benefits in June, 2.6% of working-age residents, below the North West's 4.2% and the UK's 3.9%.
5,920 people across Cheshire West and Chester were claiming unemployment-related benefits in June, according to the Office for National Statistics claimant count, 245 more than in June last year. That is 2.6 per cent of residents aged 16 to 64, which still leaves the borough well below the North West average of 4.2 per cent and the UK’s 3.9 per cent. (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 council level, which makes it the best regular signal of how the local labour market is moving across Chester, Ellesmere Port, Northwich and the rest of the borough.
A February step up that has not unwound
The monthly figures from June 2025 to June 2026 run 5,675; 5,655; 5,695; 5,690; 5,725; 5,730; 5,685; 5,690; 5,970; 5,955; 5,875; 5,915; 5,920. The count barely moved through the second half of 2025, sitting in a narrow band around 5,700, then jumped by 280 in a single month between January and February 2026. It has stayed close to 5,900 ever since: the year’s low was 5,655 in July 2025 and the high 5,970 in February 2026. (Nomis, claimant count for Cheshire West and Chester, retrieved 12 August 2026)
The rise over the year is spread across age groups rather than concentrated in one. Claimants aged 18 to 24 rose from 1,150 to 1,230, an increase of 80, those aged 25 to 49 from 3,265 to 3,355, and those aged 50 and over from 1,245 to 1,320. Younger claimants remain a disproportionate share: roughly one claimant in five is under 25.
Even after the increase, the borough’s 2.6 per cent rate means about one working-age resident in 38 is claiming, against one in 24 across the North West (201,035 claimants) and one in 26 nationally (1,697,120) on the same measure.
What it means for you
For local jobseekers the picture is mixed: there is comparatively less claimant competition here than almost anywhere else in the North West, but the February step up has not reversed, so the direction of travel is worth watching. 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, which cuts the bill rather than paying cash.
A steady jobs market is also part of what keeps the local property market moving; our Chester house prices page tracks what homes across the borough actually sell for.
The July figures are due from the ONS later this month; we will report them when they appear on Nomis.
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