Listz area intelligence

Employment and earnings by council

Name: England and Wales council labour-market rankings
Creator: Listz
License: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

The highest and lowest published labour-market measures across current council areas in England and Wales, using the latest available official observations.

318 councilsOne current geography across England and Wales

Six measuresEmployment, claimant rates and earnings

Official dataONS datasets published through Nomis

Employment rate, aged 16–64

Apr 2025-Mar 2026

316 of 318 council areas had a published value; 2 were unavailable or suppressed.

Highest published values

Highest published values for Employment rate, aged 16–64
Rank	Council area	Nation	Value
1	Crawley	England	90.0%
2	Surrey Heath	England	89.9%
3	Worthing	England	88.8%
4	Horsham	England	88.7%
5	West Oxfordshire	England	88.1%
6	Fareham	England	87.6%
7	Dacorum	England	87.5%
8	East Devon	England	87.5%
9	Mid Devon	England	86.2%
10	Cherwell	England	86.0%
11	North Devon	England	85.9%
12	East Cambridgeshire	England	85.6%
13	Central Bedfordshire	England	85.4%
14	Blaby	England	85.3%
15	East Staffordshire	England	85.2%
16	Mole Valley	England	85.1%
17	Wandsworth	England	85.1%
18	Broadland	England	84.8%
19	Stroud	England	84.5%
20	North Hertfordshire	England	84.2%

Lowest published values

Lowest published values for Employment rate, aged 16–64
Rank	Council area	Nation	Value
1	Gravesham	England	59.7%
2	Hastings	England	61.7%
3	Blaenau Gwent	Wales	63.0%
4	Hyndburn	England	63.6%
5	Kingston upon Hull, City of	England	63.7%
6	Oldham	England	64.3%
7	Sandwell	England	64.6%
8	South Tyneside	England	64.6%
9	Rhondda Cynon Taf	Wales	65.3%
10	Blackburn with Darwen	England	65.4%
11	Kensington and Chelsea	England	65.6%
12	Swansea	Wales	65.6%
13	Hartlepool	England	65.7%
14	Middlesbrough	England	66.0%
15	Luton	England	66.1%
16	Nottingham	England	66.1%
17	Birmingham	England	66.8%
18	Tendring	England	67.0%
19	Leicester	England	67.1%
20	Rochdale	England	67.1%

Unemployment rate, aged 16+

Apr 2025-Mar 2026

130 of 318 council areas had a published value; 188 were unavailable or suppressed. This ranking covers only areas with a publishable survey estimate and is not a complete league table of every council.

Highest published values

Highest published values for Unemployment rate, aged 16+
Rank	Council area	Nation	Value
1	Sandwell	England	11.4%
2	Swansea	Wales	10.0%
3	Brent	England	8.8%
4	Brighton and Hove	England	8.8%
5	Enfield	England	8.8%
6	Leicester	England	8.8%
7	Tower Hamlets	England	8.8%
8	Middlesbrough	England	8.7%
9	Merton	England	8.5%
10	Birmingham	England	8.2%
11	Islington	England	8.2%
12	Nottingham	England	8.2%
13	Hounslow	England	7.9%
14	Lambeth	England	7.8%
15	Ealing	England	7.7%
16	Hammersmith and Fulham	England	7.7%
17	Richmond upon Thames	England	7.7%
18	Slough	England	7.7%
19	Bradford	England	7.5%
20	Bury	England	7.5%

Lowest published values

Lowest published values for Unemployment rate, aged 16+
Rank	Council area	Nation	Value
1	South Gloucestershire	England	1.8%
2	York	England	1.9%
3	North Yorkshire	England	2.0%
4	Newcastle upon Tyne	England	2.5%
5	North Somerset	England	2.5%
6	Barnsley	England	2.6%
7	Shropshire	England	2.6%
8	Buckinghamshire	England	2.7%
9	Newport	Wales	2.7%
10	Wiltshire	England	2.7%
11	Somerset	England	2.8%
12	Denbighshire	Wales	3.1%
13	Reading	England	3.1%
14	Caerphilly	Wales	3.2%
15	Neath Port Talbot	Wales	3.2%
16	Pembrokeshire	Wales	3.2%
17	West Northamptonshire	England	3.2%
18	Cardiff	Wales	3.3%
19	Medway	England	3.3%
20	Northumberland	England	3.4%

Economic inactivity rate, aged 16–64

Apr 2025-Mar 2026

314 of 318 council areas had a published value; 4 were unavailable or suppressed.

Highest published values

Highest published values for Economic inactivity rate, aged 16–64
Rank	Council area	Nation	Value
1	Gravesham	England	34.7%
2	Blaenau Gwent	Wales	34.3%
3	Hyndburn	England	33.3%
4	Hastings	England	32.9%
5	South Tyneside	England	32.6%
6	Kingston upon Hull, City of	England	31.8%
7	Blackburn with Darwen	England	31.6%
8	Oldham	England	31.2%
9	Rhondda Cynon Taf	Wales	30.3%
10	Hartlepool	England	29.6%
11	Blackpool	England	29.3%
12	Burnley	England	29.3%
13	Kensington and Chelsea	England	29.3%
14	Canterbury	England	29.1%
15	Camden	England	28.8%
16	Torridge	England	28.8%
17	Luton	England	28.6%
18	Maldon	England	28.6%
19	Walsall	England	28.3%
20	Tendring	England	28.0%

Lowest published values

Lowest published values for Economic inactivity rate, aged 16–64
Rank	Council area	Nation	Value
1	Surrey Heath	England	8.3%
2	Harborough	England	8.9%
3	West Oxfordshire	England	9.1%
4	Dacorum	England	9.3%
5	Horsham	England	9.5%
6	Mid Devon	England	10.1%
7	East Cambridgeshire	England	10.5%
8	Worthing	England	10.6%
9	Cherwell	England	11.3%
10	East Devon	England	11.4%
11	Wandsworth	England	11.8%
12	Fareham	England	11.9%
13	Central Bedfordshire	England	12.0%
14	Broadland	England	12.2%
15	North Devon	England	12.2%
16	Lewes	England	12.7%
17	Stroud	England	13.0%
18	East Staffordshire	England	13.5%
19	Guildford	England	13.5%
20	Herefordshire, County of	England	13.5%

Claimant Count rate

August 2026

318 of 318 council areas had a published value; 0 were unavailable or suppressed.

Highest published values

Highest published values for Claimant Count rate
Rank	Council area	Nation	Value
1	Birmingham	England	10.1%
2	Barking and Dagenham	England	7.4%
3	Haringey	England	7.4%
4	Newham	England	7.4%
5	Brent	England	7.2%
6	Enfield	England	7.2%
7	Bradford	England	6.9%
8	Hackney	England	6.9%
9	Lewisham	England	6.8%
10	Sandwell	England	6.7%
11	Tower Hamlets	England	6.7%
12	Wolverhampton	England	6.7%
13	Luton	England	6.6%
14	Oldham	England	6.5%
15	Waltham Forest	England	6.5%
16	Ealing	England	6.4%
17	Croydon	England	6.3%
18	Lambeth	England	6.2%
19	Nottingham	England	6.1%
20	Manchester	England	6.0%

Lowest published values

Lowest published values for Claimant Count rate
Rank	Council area	Nation	Value
1	City of London	England	1.1%
2	Isles of Scilly	England	1.5%
3	Derbyshire Dales	England	1.8%
4	Harborough	England	1.8%
5	Hart	England	1.8%
6	Ribble Valley	England	1.8%
7	Rutland	England	1.8%
8	South Oxfordshire	England	1.8%
9	Westmorland and Furness	England	1.8%
10	York	England	1.8%
11	Bath and North East Somerset	England	1.9%
12	Mole Valley	England	1.9%
13	West Oxfordshire	England	1.9%
14	Cambridge	England	2.0%
15	East Hertfordshire	England	2.0%
16	Fareham	England	2.0%
17	Guildford	England	2.0%
18	Horsham	England	2.0%
19	North Yorkshire	England	2.0%
20	South Cambridgeshire	England	2.0%

Resident median weekly earnings

2025

316 of 318 council areas had a published value; 2 were unavailable or suppressed.

Highest published values

Highest published values for Resident median weekly earnings
Rank	Council area	Nation	Value
1	St Albans	England	£1,134.60
2	Richmond upon Thames	England	£1,056.60
3	Camden	England	£1,032.40
4	Kensington and Chelsea	England	£1,022.60
5	Wandsworth	England	£1,016.60
6	Westminster	England	£1,015.50
7	Islington	England	£1,005.00
8	Tower Hamlets	England	£996.60
9	Merton	England	£994.30
10	North Hertfordshire	England	£983.40
11	Elmbridge	England	£970.30
12	Bromley	England	£964.50
13	East Hertfordshire	England	£960.60
14	Hackney	England	£959.30
15	Uttlesford	England	£958.20
16	Waverley	England	£957.50
17	Wokingham	England	£953.70
18	Kingston upon Thames	England	£953.20
19	Windsor and Maidenhead	England	£951.90
20	Brentwood	England	£951.50

Lowest published values

Lowest published values for Resident median weekly earnings
Rank	Council area	Nation	Value
1	Boston	England	£609.40
2	Pendle	England	£619.90
3	Nottingham	England	£633.90
4	Mansfield	England	£635.60
5	Leicester	England	£639.50
6	Kingston upon Hull, City of	England	£645.10
7	East Lindsey	England	£646.00
8	North Norfolk	England	£646.20
9	Blackpool	England	£647.90
10	Blackburn with Darwen	England	£649.60
11	Melton	England	£649.70
12	North Devon	England	£650.30
13	Stoke-on-Trent	England	£650.90
14	Sunderland	England	£655.30
15	Denbighshire	Wales	£660.00
16	County Durham	England	£661.30
17	Isle of Wight	England	£662.10
18	West Devon	England	£662.40
19	Rhondda Cynon Taf	Wales	£665.50
20	Hartlepool	England	£666.60

Workplace median weekly earnings

2025

317 of 318 council areas had a published value; 1 were unavailable or suppressed.

Highest published values

Highest published values for Workplace median weekly earnings
Rank	Council area	Nation	Value
1	City of London	England	£1,278.50
2	Tower Hamlets	England	£1,251.20
3	Three Rivers	England	£1,053.50
4	Camden	England	£1,038.20
5	Westminster	England	£1,022.50
6	Islington	England	£1,006.80
7	Hammersmith and Fulham	England	£970.60
8	Stevenage	England	£966.20
9	Hackney	England	£958.20
10	Southwark	England	£957.60
11	Stratford-on-Avon	England	£956.80
12	Reading	England	£954.40
13	Mole Valley	England	£946.40
14	Ribble Valley	England	£940.60
15	Welwyn Hatfield	England	£929.90
16	Lambeth	England	£920.70
17	South Cambridgeshire	England	£913.80
18	Runnymede	England	£904.30
19	Wokingham	England	£900.80
20	Hertsmere	England	£878.50

Lowest published values

Lowest published values for Workplace median weekly earnings
Rank	Council area	Nation	Value
1	South Holland	England	£608.50
2	Burnley	England	£609.60
3	Isle of Wight	England	£614.20
4	Merthyr Tydfil	Wales	£619.20
5	Pendle	England	£619.90
6	North Norfolk	England	£620.40
7	North Devon	England	£623.50
8	Conwy	Wales	£624.50
9	East Lindsey	England	£627.50
10	Gedling	England	£633.20
11	Torbay	England	£637.40
12	Wigan	England	£638.10
13	Tameside	England	£638.60
14	Wyre	England	£638.60
15	Rotherham	England	£639.50
16	Sunderland	England	£642.20
17	South Hams	England	£643.00
18	County Durham	England	£643.10
19	Bolton	England	£643.20
20	Rossendale	England	£644.00

Methodology and interpretation

Geography

Current April 2023 district and unitary geography: 296 English and 22 Welsh councils.

Eligibility

Only status A observations with a published numeric value are ranked. Suppressed and unavailable estimates remain in the coverage count.

Survey estimates

APS employment measures and ASHE earnings are estimates and may be revised. Small-area estimates can be volatile.

Claimant Count

The Claimant Count is an administrative measure and must not be interpreted as the unemployment rate.

Source: Office for National Statistics datasets via Nomis. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Rankings show individual measures, not an overall judgement about the best place to live.