East Kent jobs show signs of recovery as median pay reaches £2,508 a month
WageSight Wire · Aug 2026
- Employment
- 208,749 workers (July 2026)
- Monthly change
- +0.1% (+126 workers)
- Annual change
- -0.3% (-628 workers)
- Median pay
- £2,508/month (YoY: +4.3%, £104 more in cash terms)
- Total pay bill
- +3.9% on the year
- Real pay vs Feb 2022
- +£97 better off in real terms
Payrolled employment in East Kent fell 0.3% over the year to July 2026, with 208,749 workers on payroll. However, in the most recent month employers added 126 workers, a tentative sign that confidence may be returning.
Across the South East, payrolled employment was broadly flat, down 0.3% over the year to July 2026. East Kent ranked 10th of 20 sub-regional areas in the South East by employment change over the past year.
The median pay packet for workers in East Kent stood at £2,508 in July 2026, up 4.3% over the past year and ahead of inflation at 3.03%. After a period of sharp inflation from 2022 that eroded real earnings, wages have been recovering. Workers in East Kent are now £97 a month better off in real terms than in February 2022, when median earnings stood at £1,916 a month. The total pay bill in East Kent rose 3.9% over the year, faster than headcount, suggesting average earnings per worker are improving.
Nationally, payrolled employment edged down 0.3% over the year to July 2026. Across the UK, 580,736 workers entered payrolled employment in June 2026, the most recently available flow data, while 594,229 left, a net loss of 13,493 workers.
“Compared to this time last year employers are reporting a reduction in the number of people on payroll. But the shorter term picture for jobs in East Kent is more encouraging. Maybe this is evidence of the dial turning. And pay is still nudging ahead inflation. Hopefully these are are the right signals.”
— Paul Hebden, Director, Campaign Salience
South East — employment and pay
| # | Area | Workers | Jobs (yr) | Median pay | Pay (yr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Kent | 164,784 | +0.2% | £2,930 | +4.6% |
| 2 | Kent Thames Gateway | 174,655 | +0.2% | £2,773 | +4.5% |
| 3 | Mid Kent | 148,790 | +0.1% | £2,685 | +4.3% |
| 4 | South Hampshire | 205,832 | +0.1% | £2,675 | +4.5% |
| 5 | Medway | 131,545 | -0.1% | £2,731 | +4.6% |
| 6 | North Hampshire | 194,868 | -0.1% | £2,981 | +4.1% |
| 7 | East Sussex CC | 217,411 | -0.1% | £2,483 | +4.6% |
| 8 | Central Hampshire | 247,033 | -0.2% | £2,730 | +4.4% |
| 9 | Milton Keynes | 146,078 | -0.2% | £2,769 | +4.6% |
| 10 | East Kent | 208,749 | -0.3% | £2,508 | +4.3% |
| 11 | East Surrey | 187,977 | -0.3% | £3,135 | +4.3% |
| 12 | West Sussex (North East) | 201,532 | -0.3% | £2,846 | +4.4% |
| 13 | West Surrey | 377,974 | -0.4% | £3,098 | +4.1% |
| 14 | West Sussex (South West) | 194,970 | -0.4% | £2,543 | +4.5% |
| 15 | Oxfordshire CC | 349,112 | -0.4% | £2,961 | +5.0% |
| 16 | Buckinghamshire | 259,241 | -0.4% | £2,939 | +4.5% |
| 17 | Isle of Wight | 51,923 | -0.7% | £2,304 | +4.7% |
| 18 | Southampton | 115,928 | -0.8% | £2,585 | +4.4% |
| 19 | Brighton and Hove | 127,136 | -1.0% | £2,633 | +4.0% |
| 20 | Portsmouth | 94,681 | -1.2% | £2,545 | +4.6% |
Notes to editors
Figures from WageSight, derived from ONS / HMRC PAYE Real Time Information. Full method at wagesight.com/methodology.
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