Benefit claimants drop across Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin
The number of people claiming Universal Credit dropped last month in both Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin.
According to the latest data published by the Department for Work and Pensions, there were 4,565 people in Shropshire claiming Universal Credit in January, including 895 18 to 24 year olds and 1,155 over 50s.
Year on year, this represented a one per cent increase among young people but a 12 per cent drop among the 50+ demographic while overall it was a drop of six per cent, or 270 people, compared with January 2025.
In Telford & Wrekin, there were 4,540 people claiming the benefit, including 1,055 aged 18 to 24 and 910 over 50s.
This represented a nine per cent increase among young people but no change among the over 50s while overall it was a decrease of just ten people compared to the same month in 2025.
Across the wider region, rates of unemployment in the West Midlands have increased fractionally while the national figure has reached a near five-year high, according to the latest data.
Monthly job stats for the region published today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also showed a slight decrease in the rate of employment and a rise in inactivity.For the three months from October to December 2025, 73 per cent of 16 to 64 year olds in the West Midlands were in work, a drop of 0.7 per cent on the three months from July to September.
The percentage of people aged 16 or over who were unemployed was 6.1 per cent, an increase of 0.1 per cent over the same period.
The inactivity rate among 16 to 64 year olds was 21.8 per cent, an increase of 0.5 per cent over the same quarterly period.
There were a total of 2.936 million people in employment across the West Midlands - down both 25,000 on the quarter and 18,000 on the year - while 191,000 were unemployed, down up 1,000 on the quarter and up 60,000 on the year.
Pat McFadden, Work and Pensions Secretary and MP for Wolverhampton South East, said: "Today's figures show there are 381,000 more people in work since the start of 2025 but we know there is more to do to get people into jobs.
"Our £1.5 billion drive to tackle youth unemployment is a key priority and this month we announced that we'll make it easier for young people to find and secure an apprenticeship which comes on top of our investment to create 50,000 new apprenticeships.
"We're also meeting people where they are - trebling the number of jobcentres on wheels, bringing a youth hub to every area in Great Britain and giving every young person the chance to earn or learn with our Youth Guarantee."
