Percentage of people on out-of-work benefits by London borough (2025 Q4 and 2024 Q4)
Last updated: July 2026
Next estimated update: September 2026
What’s this indicator?
This indicator shows the percentage of working-age people (16-64) on out of work-benefits in each London borough.
What does it tell us?
Out-of-work benefits continues to rise across London
The proportion of working-age Londoners on out-of-work benefits has increased in every London borough (except Kensington and Chelsea) in the last year (2024 to 2025 Q4).
In the vast majority of boroughs (25), the proportion of working-age adults on out-of-work benefits is now higher than it was in 2020, when rates shot up due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The largest percentage point increase in claimants across all London boroughs is in Barking and Dagenham which increased by 1 percentage point, followed by Brent, Barnet and Havering which all increased by 0.9ppts.
Where are levels of out-of-work benefits highest and lowest?
Enfield has the highest proportion: 21.4% of the working age population were on out-of-work benefits in the last quarter of 2025.
Richmond-upon-Thames has the lowest overall proportion of the working-age population on out-of-work-benefits of any London borough (excluding City of London), 8.0% in November 2025.
Out-of-work benefits (2025 Q3 and 2024 Q3)
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