Employment falls in Herefordshire, County of as pay rises to £2,474 a month
WageSight Wire · Aug 2026
- Employment
- 80,820 workers (July 2026)
- Monthly change
- -0.1% (-94 workers)
- Annual change
- -0.3% (-266 workers)
- Median pay
- £2,474/month (YoY: +4.6%, £109 more in cash terms)
- Total pay bill
- +5.8% on the year
- Real pay vs Feb 2022
- +£105 better off in real terms
Payrolled employment in Herefordshire, County of fell 0.3% over the year to July 2026, 266 fewer workers, with a further monthly dip of 0.1% sustaining the downward pressure.
Across the West Midlands, payrolled employment was broadly flat, down 0.1% over the year to July 2026. Herefordshire, County of ranked 10th of 14 sub-regional areas in the West Midlands by employment change over the past year.
The median pay packet for workers in Herefordshire, County of stood at £2,474 in July 2026, up 4.6% 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 Herefordshire, County of are now £105 a month better off in real terms than in February 2022, when median earnings stood at £1,880 a month. The total pay bill in Herefordshire, County of rose 5.8% 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 Herefordshire 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 Herefordshire 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
West Midlands — employment and pay
| # | Area | Workers | Jobs (yr) | Median pay | Pay (yr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coventry | 168,352 | +1.0% | £2,551 | +4.7% |
| 2 | Telford | 85,492 | +0.4% | £2,545 | +4.8% |
| 3 | Warwickshire CC | 284,293 | +0.4% | £2,760 | +4.2% |
| 4 | Stoke-on-Trent | 115,071 | +0.2% | £2,404 | +4.6% |
| 5 | Walsall | 118,937 | +0.0% | £2,434 | +4.8% |
| 6 | Staffordshire CC | 395,882 | +0.0% | £2,590 | +4.5% |
| 7 | Worcestershire CC | 270,994 | -0.2% | £2,586 | +4.6% |
| 8 | Sandwell | 146,938 | -0.3% | £2,391 | +4.5% |
| 9 | Solihull | 96,898 | -0.3% | £2,763 | +4.4% |
| 10 | Herefordshire | 80,820 | -0.3% | £2,474 | +4.6% |
| 11 | Wolverhampton | 118,332 | -0.5% | £2,447 | +4.6% |
| 12 | Birmingham | 464,770 | -0.5% | £2,442 | +4.6% |
| 13 | Dudley | 138,735 | -0.7% | £2,529 | +5.2% |
| 14 | Shropshire | 133,343 | -0.7% | £2,473 | +5.2% |
Notes to editors
Figures from WageSight, derived from ONS / HMRC PAYE Real Time Information. Full method at wagesight.com/methodology.
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