Employment falls in East Surrey as pay rises to £3,125 a month
WageSight Wire · Jul 2026
- Employment
- 188,295 workers (June 2026)
- Monthly change
- -0.0% (-18 workers)
- Annual change
- -0.2% (-350 workers)
- Median pay
- £3,125/month (YoY: +4.8%, £143 more in cash terms)
- Total pay bill
- +5.7% on the year
Payrolled employment in East Surrey fell 0.2% over the year to June 2026, 350 fewer workers, with the monthly figure broadly unchanged.
Across the South East, payrolled employment was broadly flat, down 0.2% over the year to June 2026. East Surrey ranked 12th of 20 sub-regional areas in the South East by employment change over the past year.
The median pay packet for workers in East Surrey stood at £3,125 in June 2026, up 4.8% 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 Surrey are now £1 a month worse off in real terms than in February 2022, when median earnings stood at £2,535 a month. The total pay bill in East Surrey rose 5.7% 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 Surrey 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 Surrey 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
South East — employment and pay
| # | Area | Workers | Jobs (yr) | Median pay | Pay (yr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medway | 131,876 | +0.3% | £2,723 | +5.3% |
| 2 | Kent Thames Gateway | 174,626 | +0.2% | £2,763 | +5.3% |
| 3 | South Hampshire | 206,260 | +0.2% | £2,659 | +4.7% |
| 4 | West Kent | 164,756 | +0.2% | £2,912 | +4.7% |
| 5 | North Hampshire | 195,285 | +0.2% | £2,961 | +3.8% |
| 6 | East Sussex CC | 217,837 | +0.0% | £2,478 | +5.0% |
| 7 | Central Hampshire | 247,382 | +0.0% | £2,716 | +4.6% |
| 8 | Mid Kent | 148,661 | -0.1% | £2,671 | +4.8% |
| 9 | West Sussex (South West) | 195,583 | -0.1% | £2,526 | +4.7% |
| 10 | West Sussex (North East) | 201,905 | -0.2% | £2,837 | +4.7% |
| 11 | West Surrey | 378,387 | -0.2% | £3,078 | +3.8% |
| 12 | East Surrey | 188,295 | -0.2% | £3,125 | +4.8% |
| 13 | Milton Keynes | 146,158 | -0.2% | £2,756 | +4.8% |
| 14 | Southampton | 116,395 | -0.2% | £2,568 | +4.6% |
| 15 | Oxfordshire CC | 349,309 | -0.4% | £2,952 | +5.4% |
| 16 | Isle of Wight | 52,147 | -0.4% | £2,283 | +4.7% |
| 17 | Buckinghamshire | 259,241 | -0.4% | £2,939 | +4.5% |
| 18 | East Kent | 208,674 | -0.4% | £2,497 | +4.8% |
| 19 | Brighton and Hove | 127,098 | -0.9% | £2,634 | +4.8% |
| 20 | Portsmouth | 94,737 | -1.1% | £2,530 | +5.0% |
Notes to editors
Figures from WageSight, derived from ONS / HMRC PAYE Real Time Information. Full method at wagesight.com/methodology.
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