Cherwell had 2,490 jobless claimants in September, 65 fewer than a year ago, while the UK rose. Banbury's estates drove the fall, but Ruscote is still at 4.6%.

The number of people claiming out-of-work benefits in the Cherwell district has fallen over the past year, while the figure across the UK went up.

There were 2,490 claimants in September 2026, or 2.3% of residents aged 16 to 64. A year earlier there were 2,555. That is 65 fewer people, a fall of 2.5%.

Across the UK the count rose 2.8% over the same 12 months, to 1,702,905. The UK rate is 3.9%.

The figures come from the ONS claimant count, published on nomis this week. It counts people claiming benefits mainly because they are out of work. It is not the unemployment rate, which comes from a survey and runs higher.

Down 185 since February

Cherwell’s count peaked this year at 2,675 in February. It has fallen in most months since, and is now 185 lower.

September itself was up 15 on August. That is a small move, and the ONS rounds every count to the nearest 5.

One correction to the record. When the August figures came out last month, the ONS put Cherwell at 2,525. It has since revised that down to 2,475. Monthly figures are often revised like this, so the year-on-year comparison is the safer one to read.

How Oxfordshire’s districts compare

District September 2026 Rate Change on the year
Oxford 3,095 2.6% +5
Cherwell 2,490 2.3% -65
Vale of White Horse 1,835 2.0% +10
South Oxfordshire 1,755 1.9% -15
West Oxfordshire 1,405 1.9% +110
Oxfordshire 10,575 2.2% +40

Cherwell had the largest fall in the county. West Oxfordshire went the other way, up 110, or 8.5%.

Banbury’s estates drove the fall

The ONS also publishes the count for 19 neighbourhoods across the district. These are census areas of roughly 5,000 to 15,000 residents each, not council wards. The House of Commons Library gives each one a local name. The series only starts in January 2026, so the useful comparison is with February’s peak.

Across those neighbourhoods the count fell by 180 between February and September. Banbury’s six neighbourhoods account for 125 of that fall, from 1,270 claimants to 1,145.

  • Banbury Grimsbury: down 55, from 405 to 350
  • Banbury Ruscote: down 40, from 305 to 265
  • Banbury Neithrop: down 15, from 165 to 150
  • Caversfield, Ambrosden and Fringford: down 30, from 140 to 110, the largest fall outside Banbury

Kidlington South was the only neighbourhood to rise by more than 5, from 75 to 85.

Bar chart of the claimant count as a share of residents aged 16 to 64 in Cherwell's 19 neighbourhoods in September 2026. Banbury Ruscote 4.6%, Banbury Neithrop 3.7%, Banbury Grimsbury 3.5%, Banbury Easington 2.9%, Islip, Arncott and Chesterton 2.9%, Banbury Hardwick 2.3%, Kidlington South 2.3%, Bicester West 2.0%, Kidlington North 2.0%, Cropredy, Wroxton and Shennington 1.9%, Banbury Calthorpe 1.8%, Bodicote, Adderbury and Bloxham 1.8%, Bicester East 1.8%, Begbroke, Yarnton and Water Eaton 1.8%, Deddington, Steeple Aston and Heyfords 1.7%, Bicester South 1.6%, Sibford, Hook Norton and Milcombe 1.4%, Caversfield, Ambrosden and Fringford 1.3%, Bicester North 1.3%.
Chart by Banbury Online. Source: ONS claimant count via nomis, September 2026.
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But the gap inside the district is still wide

A district rate of 2.3% hides a lot. Banbury Ruscote is at 4.6%, above the UK average and twice the district’s. That is down from 5.3% in February, but it is still the highest in Cherwell.

Two other Banbury neighbourhoods sit well above the district rate:

  • Banbury Neithrop, 3.7%
  • Banbury Grimsbury, 3.5%, which also has the most claimants of any neighbourhood, at 350

At the other end, Bicester North and Caversfield, Ambrosden and Fringford are both at 1.3%. Every Bicester neighbourhood is below the district average.

Young people: flat here, up 10.6% nationally

Claims by 18 to 24 year olds have been climbing sharply across the country. In Cherwell they have not.

  • Cherwell: 370 in September 2026, against 375 a year earlier
  • Oxfordshire: 1,630, down from 1,660
  • The UK: 342,635, up from 309,835, a rise of 10.6%

A change of five in Cherwell’s figure is inside the ONS rounding, so the honest reading is “unchanged”.

What it means for you

For the district as a whole, the jobs market has held up better than the country’s over the past year, and much better for under-25s.

If you live in Ruscote, Neithrop or Grimsbury, the picture on your street is different. In Ruscote about one working-age adult in 22 is claiming, against about one in 43 across Cherwell.

If you are claiming, or about to, Cherwell District Council lists the help it offers on its benefits pages. Council tax reduction is separate. You claim it from the district council, not the DWP, and our council tax bands page has what each band costs in Banbury this year.

The October figures are due in November.

Sources

  • Office for National Statistics, claimant count (dataset NM_162_1), September 2026 and earlier months, district, county, UK and middle layer super output area figures, not seasonally adjusted
  • House of Commons Library, MSOA names, for the neighbourhood names
  • Our report on the August figures: Banbury Jobs Fair on 30 September