All six Crowborough wards are below the district's 2.4% claimant rate, from 1.3% to 2.3%. Wealden's total rose 9.7% in a year, sixth fastest in the South East.

Wealden has the lowest claimant rate of any district in East Sussex, and it also had the county’s steepest rise over the past year. In July 2026, 2,270 Wealden residents were claiming unemployment-related benefits, 2.4% of everyone aged 16 to 64. That is 200 more than in July 2025, a rise of 9.7%. (ONS claimant count via nomis)

Only five of the 64 local authorities in the South East rose faster. The regional rise was 3.3%, and the UK’s 1.3%.

Crowborough itself sits well under the district figure. All six of its wards are below 2.4%, and the town’s six wards together account for 240 of the district’s 2,270 claimants.

Crowborough ward by ward

Ward July 2026 Share of 16 to 64s
Crowborough St Johns 20 1.3%
Crowborough South West 35 1.7%
Crowborough Jarvis Brook 45 1.8%
Crowborough Central 45 1.9%
Crowborough North 40 2.0%
Crowborough South East 55 2.3%

Source: ONS claimant count via nomis, ward geography as of May 2025. All figures are rounded to the nearest five.

The spread across the district is much wider than the spread across the town. Hailsham East is Wealden’s highest ward at 5.6%, more than four times Crowborough St Johns. Framfield and Cross-in-Hand is the lowest at 1.0%. Wealden’s 41 wards add up to exactly 2,270, so nothing is missing from the district picture.

The ward series only begins in January 2026, so there is no year-ago ward comparison to make. Across the seven months that do exist, the Crowborough total went from 215 to 240. Most of that came from one ward:

  • Crowborough South East: 40 to 55
  • Crowborough South West: 25 to 35
  • Crowborough North: 35 to 40
  • Crowborough Jarvis Brook: 50 to 45
  • Crowborough Central and Crowborough St Johns: unchanged at 45 and 20

Wealden against its neighbours

Area July 2026 Rate Change on July 2025
Wealden 2,270 2.4% +9.7%
Rother 1,620 3.2% +5.5%
Lewes 2,055 3.5% +5.7%
Eastbourne 2,985 4.9% +4.9%
Hastings 2,815 5.0% +7.4%
East Sussex 11,745 3.7% +6.7%
South East 185,120 3.1% +3.3%

Source: ONS claimant count via nomis.

Wealden’s rate is the lowest in the county by some distance. Its rise is the largest. The five South East authorities above it are Dartford (+12.3%), Reigate and Banstead (+11.2%), Tunbridge Wells (+10.4%), Sevenoaks (+10.3%) and Maidstone (+9.9%).

Some perspective on the rise: Wealden had 2,295 claimants in July 2024. The past year has taken the district back roughly to where it was two years ago, rather than to a new high. Within 2026 the district count has been flat, moving between 2,210 in May and 2,325 in March.

The rise is steepest among young people

Splitting the district total by age shows where the year’s increase sits.

Age band July 2025 July 2026 Change
16 to 24 340 400 +17.6%
25 to 49 1,150 1,255 +9.1%
50 and over 575 615 +7.0%

Source: ONS claimant count via nomis.

That 17.6% is the steepest of the five East Sussex districts. Hastings is next at 15.5%, then Eastbourne at 11.4%, Lewes at 10.5% and Rother at 9.1%. The county as a whole rose 13.0%, the South East 12.2% and the UK 9.7%.

July is the month to be careful with here. School and college leavers land in it every year, and these figures are not seasonally adjusted, which is why the comparison above is July against July rather than against last month.

What the claimant count is, and is not

It is not the unemployment rate. It counts people claiming benefits mainly for being unemployed, and under Universal Credit that includes some people who are in work but on low enough earnings to be under work-search conditions. Two people on identical wages can be counted differently depending on which benefit system they are in.

The figures are also rounded to the nearest five at every level, which is why small ward numbers move in steps of five rather than smoothly.

What it means for you

  • If you are 16 to 24 and looking for work around Crowborough, you are in the group the numbers moved for. The county’s Youth Employability Service is free and works one to one with 16 to 18 year olds who are out of education, employment or training, or at risk of it. East Sussex County Council also lists wider employment and learning support.
  • A low rate is not the same as no pressure. Crowborough South East and Crowborough South West between them added 25 claimants in seven months, on a town base of 215.
  • If a household in the town has just lost work, the district council’s £50 back-to-school payment closes at midnight on 8 September. We have set out who qualifies and what evidence you need.
  • You can check the figures yourself. The nomis dataset publishes them monthly, by ward and by age band, free.

See also our guides to Crowborough house prices and Crowborough planning.