Employment falls in Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees as pay rises to £2,523 a month
WageSight Wire · Aug 2026
- Employment
- 123,658 workers (July 2026)
- Monthly change
- -0.0% (-48 workers)
- Annual change
- -0.1% (-130 workers)
- Median pay
- £2,523/month (YoY: +4.0%, £97 more in cash terms)
- Total pay bill
- +3.5% on the year
- Real pay vs Feb 2022
- +£100 better off in real terms
Payrolled employment in Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees fell 0.1% over the year to July 2026, 130 fewer workers, with the monthly figure broadly unchanged.
Across the North East, payrolled employment edged down 0.4% over the year to July 2026. Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees ranked 3rd of 7 sub-regional areas in the North East by employment change over the past year.
The median pay packet for workers in Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees stood at £2,523 in July 2026, up 4.0% 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 Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees are now £100 a month better off in real terms than in February 2022, when median earnings stood at £1,925 a month. The total pay bill in Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees rose 3.5% 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.
“Latest figures show that employers in Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees have seen a dip in payroll compared to the same month last year. It's hard 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 Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees 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 East — employment and pay
| # | Area | Workers | Jobs (yr) | Median pay | Pay (yr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darlington | 49,457 | +0.2% | £2,501 | +4.3% |
| 2 | Sunderland | 118,290 | +0.1% | £2,484 | +4.1% |
| 3 | Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees | 123,658 | -0.1% | £2,523 | +4.0% |
| 4 | Tyneside | 369,759 | -0.4% | £2,531 | +4.7% |
| 5 | County Durham | 211,110 | -0.5% | £2,497 | +4.6% |
| 6 | South Teesside | 117,255 | -0.7% | £2,433 | +4.8% |
| 7 | Northumberland | 131,486 | -0.9% | £2,486 | +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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