Mid Sussex had 2,025 people claiming unemployment-related benefits in August, the most since September 2021 and the fastest annual rise in West Sussex.
2,025 people in Mid Sussex were claiming benefits principally for being unemployed in August. That is the highest figure the district has recorded since September 2021, and it is up 205 on the same month last year.
The figures were published by the Office for National Statistics on 15 September and are available through nomis, the ONS labour market database.
Two things stand out, and they pull in opposite directions.
Mid Sussex still has one of the lowest claimant rates in the county. At 2.1% of residents aged 16 to 64, only Horsham is lower, and the district sits a full percentage point below West Sussex and the South East as a whole, both on 3.1%, and well below the UK on 3.9%.
But Mid Sussex has the fastest annual rise of the seven West Sussex districts, and it is not close. The count here is up 11.3% on August 2025. The next fastest, Worthing, is up 6.1%. Horsham, next door, is up 2.0%.
How the seven West Sussex districts compare
| District | Rate | August 2026 | August 2025 | Change | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crawley | 4.6% | 3,705 | 3,525 | +180 | +5.1% |
| Arun | 3.7% | 3,500 | 3,365 | +135 | +4.0% |
| Worthing | 3.3% | 2,275 | 2,145 | +130 | +6.1% |
| Chichester | 3.2% | 2,365 | 2,270 | +95 | +4.2% |
| Adur | 3.1% | 1,180 | 1,115 | +65 | +5.8% |
| Mid Sussex | 2.1% | 2,025 | 1,820 | +205 | +11.3% |
| Horsham | 2.0% | 1,750 | 1,715 | +35 | +2.0% |
Mid Sussex is sixth of seven on the rate and first of seven on the increase. Its rise of 205 is also the largest in absolute terms in West Sussex, ahead of Crawley, which has nearly twice as many claimants to begin with.
The rise is in every age group, and steepest among the under-25s
The ONS publishes the count split three ways by age. All three are up on the year in Mid Sussex, which is not what happened everywhere.
| Age group | August 2026 | August 2025 | Change | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 to 24 | 340 | 280 | +60 | +21.4% |
| 25 to 49 | 1,130 | 1,065 | +65 | +6.1% |
| 50 and over | 550 | 475 | +75 | +15.8% |
The 340 under-25s claiming in Mid Sussex is the highest figure for that age group since August 2021. In percentage terms it is the sharpest rise of the three bands, at 21.4%.
In absolute terms the largest increase is among the over-50s, up 75 on the year. The 25 to 49 band, which is much the biggest group, rose the least in proportional terms.
The three bands sum to 2,020 rather than 2,025 because the ONS rounds these breakdowns. Its own methodology note says figures “that can be used to produce answers for small domains are rounded to the nearest five for publication”.
What this number is, and what it is not
This matters, because the claimant count gets reported as an unemployment figure and it is not one.
The ONS is explicit in its Claimant Count QMI:
The Claimant Count does not attempt to measure unemployment, which is a concept defined by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) as all those who are out of work, actively seeking work and available to start work.
What it does measure is “the number of people claiming benefits principally for the reason of being unemployed, based on administrative data from the benefits system”. Since Universal Credit, that includes some people who are working but on low enough earnings that they are still required to look for more. So the count is not a headcount of people with no job.
Two further points are worth keeping in mind.
The figures are not seasonally adjusted, so some of the month-to-month movement is the ordinary shape of the year rather than a change in conditions. That is why the annual comparison above is the one to lean on.
And the most recent month can move. The ONS says the Universal Credit element “allows for revisions to the data for one previous month”. August’s 2,025 is therefore the figure most likely to change, and it would change in the next release rather than later. The next one is due in October.
What it means for you
- In context, Mid Sussex is still a low-claimant district. At 2.1%, the rate is below West Sussex, the South East and the UK, and it is less than half Crawley’s.
- The direction is the story, not the level. The count bottomed out at 1,700 in May 2025 and has risen in most months since. August is 325 above that low.
- If you are under 25 and looking for work, the local picture has tightened measurably: 60 more people in that age group are claiming than a year ago, a rise of more than a fifth.
- Do not read this as an unemployment rate. It counts claims, not joblessness, and it includes some people in low-paid work.
- The next figures, for September, are published in October. We will update this page when they land, and say whether August was revised.
Our Mid Sussex house prices page tracks the other monthly official series for the district.
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