# Claimant rate: highest and lowest councils in North East (August 2026)

Middlesbrough had the highest claimant rate of North East’s 12 councils in August 2026, at 5.2%.

Northumberland had the lowest, at 2.9%. The middle council, Stockton-on-Tees, had 3.9%.

| Rank | Area | Claimant rate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Middlesbrough](https://openindex.co.uk/middlesbrough) | 5.2% |
| 2 | [South Tyneside](https://openindex.co.uk/south-tyneside) | 4.8% |
| 3 | [Hartlepool](https://openindex.co.uk/hartlepool) | 4.4% |
| 4 | [Gateshead](https://openindex.co.uk/gateshead) | 4.1% |
| 5 | [Newcastle upon Tyne](https://openindex.co.uk/newcastle-upon-tyne) | 4.0% |
| 6 | [Stockton-on-Tees](https://openindex.co.uk/stockton-on-tees) | 3.9% |
| =7 | [Redcar and Cleveland](https://openindex.co.uk/redcar-and-cleveland) | 3.8% |
| =7 | [Sunderland](https://openindex.co.uk/sunderland) | 3.8% |
| 9 | [Darlington](https://openindex.co.uk/darlington) | 3.6% |
| 10 | [North Tyneside](https://openindex.co.uk/north-tyneside) | 3.3% |
| 11 | [County Durham](https://openindex.co.uk/county-durham) | 3.2% |
| 12 | [Northumberland](https://openindex.co.uk/northumberland) | 2.9% |

Source: Claimant count (Nomis), ONS via Nomis. Period: August 2026. Period: August 2026.

## Other rankings of this measure

- [UK](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/uk)
- [England](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/england)
- [Northern Ireland](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/northern-ireland)
- [Scotland](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/scotland)
- [Wales](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/wales)
- [North West](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/north-west)
- [Yorkshire and The Humber](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/yorkshire-and-the-humber)
- [East Midlands](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/east-midlands)
- [West Midlands](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/west-midlands)
- [East of England](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/east-of-england)
- [London](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/london)
- [South East](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/south-east)
- [South West](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/south-west)

- [The map](https://openindex.co.uk/map/claimant-rate)
- [Source and method](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/claimant-rate)

## How to cite

Source: Open Index, openindex.co.uk. Link to this page, https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/north-east.

Open Index's own text and the figures it works out are licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Source data keeps its publishers' licences, named with each figure. Give each figure's period and source with it.

Snapshot 2026.10.11. The HTML page: https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/north-east