Brentwood claimant count: 1,245 in June, Shenfield at 1.1%

1,245 people across Brentwood borough were claiming unemployment-related benefits in June, according to the Office for National Statistics claimant count, 2.6 per cent of residents aged 16 to 64. That is almost exactly where the borough stood a year earlier, when June 2025 recorded 1,240, and it leaves Brentwood well below the national rate of 3.9 per cent, the East of England’s 3.3 per cent and the 3.1 per cent average across Essex. (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 for areas as small as a ward, which makes it the best regular signal of how the local labour market is moving. Every figure is rounded to the nearest five. Over the past twelve months Brentwood’s count has barely moved: it dipped to 1,180 in October 2025, edged up to 1,250 in February and March, and settled at 1,245 in June. Measured against economically active residents aged 16 and over, the June rate is 2.9 per cent. (Nomis, claimant count for Brentwood, retrieved 12 August 2026)

Ward by ward: town wards carry three times Shenfield’s rate

The ward figures are what make the monthly release worth reading locally, and they show the count is far from evenly spread across the borough.

Brentwood West has the borough’s highest count and rate, 160 claimants and 3.5 per cent of its working-age residents, with Brentwood North close behind on 145 (3.4 per cent). Warley has 120 claimants (3.2 per cent) and Hutton North 115 (3.2 per cent). In the middle of the table sit Brizes, Stondon Massey & South Weald on 105 (2.9 per cent), Brentwood South on 105 (2.6 per cent), Pilgrims Hatch on 100 (2.6 per cent) and Hutton South on 100 (2.4 per cent). (Nomis, claimant count by ward, June 2026)

The villages and Shenfield are a different labour market altogether. Ingatestone, Fryerning & Mountnessing has 85 claimants (2.2 per cent), Blackmore & Doddinghurst 60 (1.8 per cent), Hutton East 60 (1.7 per cent) and Herongate, Ingrave & West Horndon 50 (1.8 per cent). Shenfield has just 35 claimants, 1.1 per cent of its working-age residents, roughly a third of the rate in Brentwood West a mile and a half away. Because each ward figure is rounded to the nearest five, the thirteen wards do not sum exactly to the borough total.

Who is claiming

The breakdowns published for the borough moved very little on the year. Claimants aged 18 to 24 rose from 175 in June 2025 to 185 in June 2026, the 25 to 29 group held at 135, and the 30 to 34 group eased from 155 to 150. The June count splits into 640 men and 600 women. None of these are dramatic shifts, and that is itself the story: while the UK count sits at just under 1.7 million and the national rate has held at 3.9 per cent for most of the past year, Brentwood’s labour market has stayed tight and stable. (Nomis, claimant count by age and sex, retrieved 12 August 2026)

What it means for you

If you are job hunting in the borough, a 2.6 per cent claimant rate means comparatively few people are chasing local vacancies, though the ward figures show competition is stiffer on the west and north sides of Brentwood town than in Shenfield or the villages. If you have lost work or your hours have been cut, the main route into support is Universal Credit, claimed online, and 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 Brentwood’s property market moving; our Brentwood house prices page tracks what homes across the borough actually sell for. The July claimant figures are due from the ONS later this month; we will report them when they appear on Nomis.