1,835 people in Tunbridge Wells borough claimed unemployment-related benefits in September, the most since November 2024. Over-50s rose 16% in a year.
1,835 people in Tunbridge Wells borough were claiming unemployment-related benefits in September. That is the highest count since November 2024, when it stood at 1,880.
The total is up 130 on September last year, a rise of 7.6%. The fastest rise was among people aged 50 and over. Their number went from 445 to 515, up 15.7% in twelve months.
The figures are the Office for National Statistics claimant count for September 2026, published on 20 October in the nomis claimant count by sex and age dataset.
Over-50s are now more than a quarter of claimants
The borough’s 515 claimants aged 50 and over are level with April and May this year. Before that, the count for this age group had not been as high since February 2022, when it was 530, according to the nomis series.
They now make up 28% of all claimants in the borough, up from 26% a year ago.
| Age | September 2025 | August 2026 | September 2026 | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 to 24 | 265 | 300 | 300 | +13.2% |
| 25 to 49 | 995 | 995 | 1,020 | +2.5% |
| 50 and over | 445 | 495 | 515 | +15.7% |
| All ages | 1,705 | 1,790 | 1,835 | +7.6% |
The rise among younger claimants that we reported in August has held. The 16 to 24 group is still 300, the same as in July and August.
The split by sex shows more women claiming than a year ago:
- Women: 845, up from 770 (+9.7%)
- Men: 990, up from 935 (+5.9%)
Among women aged 50 and over the count went from 180 to 220. ONS rounds every figure to the nearest five, so changes in groups this small should be read with care.
Faster than Kent, but from a lower base
The borough’s count rose faster than the county’s and well ahead of England’s:
- Tunbridge Wells: up 7.6%, from 1,705 to 1,835
- Kent County Council area: up 5.5%, from 31,855 to 33,605
- England: up 2.6%, from 1,456,065 to 1,493,875
The pattern is sharper for the over-50s. Kent’s rose 10.6%, from 7,265 to 8,035. England’s rose 5.1%, from 329,030 to 345,730.
Tunbridge Wells still has one of the lowest claimant rates in the county. In September 2.6% of residents aged 16 to 64 were claiming. That compares with 3.4% across the Kent County Council area and 4.1% in England.
| District | Sept 2025 | Sept 2026 | Change | Rate, 16 to 64 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dartford | 2,380 | 2,600 | +9.2% | 3.3% |
| Thanet | 4,060 | 4,425 | +9.0% | 5.3% |
| Sevenoaks | 1,550 | 1,685 | +8.7% | 2.4% |
| Tonbridge and Malling | 1,920 | 2,080 | +8.3% | 2.5% |
| Maidstone | 3,725 | 4,010 | +7.7% | 3.5% |
| Tunbridge Wells | 1,705 | 1,835 | +7.6% | 2.6% |
| Canterbury | 3,075 | 3,235 | +5.2% | 3.2% |
| Folkestone and Hythe | 2,375 | 2,480 | +4.4% | 3.8% |
| Swale | 3,355 | 3,430 | +2.2% | 3.5% |
| Ashford | 2,515 | 2,570 | +2.2% | 3.0% |
| Dover | 2,245 | 2,290 | +2.0% | 3.3% |
| Gravesham | 2,950 | 2,965 | +0.5% | 4.3% |
Only Sevenoaks (2.4%) and Tonbridge and Malling (2.5%) have lower rates. Yet the three west Kent districts with the lowest rates, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Malling and Tunbridge Wells, all sit in the top half of the county for growth.
The September rise is smaller than usual
The count went up by 45 between August and September. A rise at this time of year is normal. In both 2024 and 2025 the borough’s count went up by 85 between August and September, so this year’s jump was smaller than usual.
What has changed is the starting point. The count has been above 1,775 every month since February, after sitting between 1,675 and 1,705 through last autumn and winter.
What it means for you
- This is not the unemployment rate. The claimant count covers people on Jobseeker’s Allowance, or on Universal Credit while required to look for work. Some of them are in work on low earnings. ONS says it should not be read as a measure of unemployment.
- The figures are not seasonally adjusted. That is why the comparisons here are September against September.
- If you are over 50 and looking for work, the National Careers Service gives free advice to adults of any age, and you do not need to be claiming anything to use it. Universal Credit is the route to Jobcentre support.
- If you are hiring locally, the borough has more claimants than at any point since November 2024, and the fastest growth is among people aged 50 and over.
Related: Tunbridge Wells house prices, council tax bands and trains to London.
Sources
- ONS claimant count by sex and age, via nomis, dataset NM_162_1, updated 20 October 2026: September 2025 to September 2026 for Tunbridge Wells borough by age and sex, the twelve Kent County Council districts, the Kent County Council area and England; the full Tunbridge Wells series back to 2019 for the comparisons with earlier months
- Claimant Count methodology, Office for National Statistics, for what the count does and does not measure
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