Employment falls in East Merseyside as pay rises to £2,581 a month
WageSight Wire · Jul 2026
- Employment
- 210,091 workers (June 2026)
- Monthly change
- -0.1% (-293 workers)
- Annual change
- -0.4% (-865 workers)
- Median pay
- £2,581/month (YoY: +5.0%, £123 more in cash terms)
- Total pay bill
- +4.3% on the year
- Real pay vs Feb 2022
- +£90 better off in real terms
Payrolled employment in East Merseyside fell 0.4% over the year to June 2026, 865 fewer workers, with a further monthly dip of 0.1% sustaining the downward pressure.
Across the North West, payrolled employment edged down 0.4% over the year to June 2026. East Merseyside ranked 9th of 19 sub-regional areas in the North West by employment change over the past year.
The median pay packet for workers in East Merseyside stood at £2,581 in June 2026, up 5.0% over the past year and ahead of inflation at 2.82%. After a period of sharp inflation from 2022 that eroded real earnings, wages have been recovering. Workers in East Merseyside are now £90 a month better off in real terms than in February 2022, when median earnings stood at £1,989 a month. The total pay bill in East Merseyside rose 4.3% over the year, faster than headcount, suggesting average earnings per worker are improving.
Nationally, payrolled employment was broadly flat, down 0.2% over the year to June 2026. Across the UK, 599,257 workers entered payrolled employment in May 2026, the most recently available flow data, while 596,423 left, a net gain of 2,834 workers.
“Employers in East Merseyside have reported a significant dip in payroll in the latest figures. It's too early to tell if this is businesses bracing agains the impact of the current economic uncertainty on inflation. On the flip side, wages for those in work continues to surge. The positive story is that workers in East Merseyside are seeing their pay packets grow. That's money in people's pockets, and it matters for local businesses and public services. But there will be understandable concern at the employment picture.”
— Paul Hebden, Campaign Salience
North West — employment and pay
| # | Area | Workers | Jobs (yr) | Median pay | Pay (yr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greater Manchester South West | 246,637 | +0.2% | £2,632 | +4.2% |
| 2 | Wirral | 137,666 | +0.0% | £2,567 | +4.6% |
| 3 | Cheshire East | 185,565 | +0.0% | £2,666 | +4.5% |
| 4 | Mid Lancashire | 186,550 | -0.1% | £2,537 | +5.4% |
| 5 | Cheshire West | 163,814 | -0.2% | £2,610 | +4.4% |
| 6 | Greater Manchester North West | 276,863 | -0.2% | £2,489 | +4.9% |
| 7 | Greater Manchester South East | 241,142 | -0.3% | £2,621 | +4.8% |
| 8 | Chorley and West Lancashire | 104,394 | -0.4% | £2,589 | +5.2% |
| 9 | East Merseyside | 210,091 | -0.4% | £2,581 | +5.0% |
| 10 | Greater Manchester North East | 280,080 | -0.4% | £2,443 | +4.8% |
| 11 | East Lancashire | 142,350 | -0.5% | £2,392 | +4.9% |
| 12 | Warrington | 100,839 | -0.6% | £2,644 | +4.4% |
| 13 | West Cumbria | 104,154 | -0.6% | £2,727 | +5.1% |
| 14 | Sefton | 117,457 | -0.6% | £2,536 | +5.2% |
| 15 | Blackburn with Darwen | 64,967 | -0.7% | £2,318 | +4.7% |
| 16 | Lancaster and Wyre | 104,306 | -0.8% | £2,452 | +5.5% |
| 17 | Liverpool | 215,896 | -0.8% | £2,496 | +5.3% |
| 18 | Manchester | 252,802 | -1.0% | £2,452 | +4.6% |
| 19 | Blackpool | 58,838 | -1.2% | £2,343 | +5.9% |
Notes to editors
Figures from WageSight, derived from ONS / HMRC PAYE Real Time Information. Full method at wagesight.com/methodology.
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