Burton Bounces Back: Local Unemployment Drops by Nearly 12%

Here’s some good news for Burton and Uttoxeter residents -unemployment is heading in the right direction: down.

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show a healthy 11.9% drop in the number of people claiming out-of-work benefits in our area over the past year. That’s 370 fewer people relying on unemployment support compared to this time last year.

In July 2024, the local claimant count stood at 3,100. Fast forward to July 2025, and that figure is down to 2,730. It means around 3.8% of the area’s population are currently claiming unemployment benefits.

While national headlines have focused on rising unemployment across the UK, our patch appears to be bucking the trend—proof that local resilience (and perhaps a bit of good old-fashioned Staffordshire graft) is alive and well.

Just up the road in South Derbyshire, the fall has been more modest, with a 5.8% drop in unemployment claims. Over the county border in North West Leicestershire, however, things have edged the other way, with a small rise of 4.9%.

Across the UK, the picture remains mixed. While the total number of benefit claimants has fallen by over 70,000 since this time last year, there are still nearly half a million more people out of work than before the pandemic hit in 2020.

The government’s big ambition is to reach an 80% employment rate, backed by a £240 million plan to tackle long-term unemployment. For now, the national employment rate is sitting at 75.3%, and while there's still a way to go, areas like Burton are clearly doing their bit.

It’s too early to declare a full recovery - but if the numbers are anything to go by, Burton and Uttoxeter are firmly on the up.