Employment falls in North Ayrshire and East Ayrshire as pay rises to £2,649 a month
WageSight Wire · Jul 2026
- Employment
- 104,380 workers (June 2026)
- Monthly change
- -0.1% (-54 workers)
- Annual change
- -0.1% (-153 workers)
- Median pay
- £2,649/month (YoY: +5.5%, £137 more in cash terms)
- Total pay bill
- +4.4% on the year
- Real pay vs Feb 2022
- +£124 better off in real terms
Payrolled employment in North Ayrshire and East Ayrshire fell 0.1% over the year to June 2026, 153 fewer workers, with a further monthly dip of 0.1% sustaining the downward pressure.
Across Scotland, payrolled employment was broadly flat, down 0.1% over the year to June 2026. North Ayrshire and East Ayrshire ranked 11th of 20 sub-regional areas in Scotland by employment change over the past year.
The median pay packet for workers in North Ayrshire and East Ayrshire stood at £2,649 in June 2026, up 5.5% 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 North Ayrshire and East Ayrshire are now £124 a month better off in real terms than in February 2022, when median earnings stood at £2,005 a month. The total pay bill in North Ayrshire and East Ayrshire rose 4.4% 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 North Ayrshire and East Ayrshire 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 North Ayrshire and East Ayrshire 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
Scotland — employment and pay
| # | Area | Workers | Jobs (yr) | Median pay | Pay (yr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire, and Renfrewshire | 162,243 | +0.4% | £2,763 | +5.5% |
| 2 | South Lanarkshire | 150,815 | +0.2% | unknown | unknown |
| 3 | Caithness and Sutherland, and Ross and Cromarty | 39,582 | +0.2% | £2,536 | +4.4% |
| 4 | Inverness and Nairn, Moray, and Badenoch and Strathspey | 93,425 | +0.1% | unknown | unknown |
| 5 | Glasgow City | 276,199 | +0.1% | unknown | unknown |
| 6 | North Lanarkshire | 157,840 | +0.1% | unknown | unknown |
| 7 | South Ayrshire | 44,789 | +0.0% | unknown | unknown |
| 8 | Clackmannanshire and Fife | 182,544 | +0.0% | £2,631 | +4.8% |
| 9 | City of Edinburgh | 252,583 | +0.0% | unknown | unknown |
| 10 | West Lothian | 87,689 | +0.0% | unknown | unknown |
| 11 | North Ayrshire and East Ayrshire | 104,380 | -0.2% | £2,649 | +5.4% |
| 12 | East Lothian and Midlothian | 94,863 | -0.2% | £2,710 | +5.1% |
| 13 | Perth and Kinross, and Stirling | 107,794 | -0.2% | £2,628 | +4.0% |
| 14 | Angus and Dundee City | 113,509 | -0.3% | £2,556 | +5.1% |
| 15 | Falkirk | 74,473 | -0.4% | unknown | unknown |
| 16 | Lochaber, Skye and Lochalsh, Arran and Cumbrae, and Argyll and Bute | 41,507 | -0.4% | £2,466 | +5.2% |
| 17 | Dumfries and Galloway | 58,524 | -0.4% | unknown | unknown |
| 18 | Scottish Borders | 47,125 | -0.7% | unknown | unknown |
| 19 | East Dunbartonshire, West Dunbartonshire, and Helensburgh and Lomond | 10,024 | -0.9% | £2,776 | +3.8% |
| 20 | Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire | 225,510 | -1.1% | £2,779 | +3.9% |
Notes to editors
Figures from WageSight, derived from ONS / HMRC PAYE Real Time Information. Full method at wagesight.com/methodology.
WageSight's newswire places sourced local economic stories — with expert comment — in front of news desks across the UK. To discuss providing commentary for stories in your area or sector, contact [email protected].