Area type
County
Population
1,506,345
GDP
£40 billion
Average salary
£38,021
Labour force
932,343
Job Density
0.77
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The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Essex was worth an estimated £40 billion in 2020, according to figures published by the ONS. Essex's GDP growth between 2019 and 2020 was -5.5% per year. Compare GDP by area.
The Health industry is the largest in Essex based on the number of jobs, accounting for 13.3% of roles in the area.
2020 ONS figures suggest that there are 697,000 jobs in Essex, which has a working-age (aged 16-65) population of 932,343. The 2020 job density in Essex is 0.75, meaning there are 0.75 jobs per member of the Essex working-age population.
Essex had a mean average salary for full-time employees of £38,021 in 2022. Essex's unemployment rate is 2.6% as of 2022. Compare unemployment rate by area.
The 2020 labour force or working-age population in Essex is 932,343 or 61.9% of the total population.
In 2022, 97.4% of the labour market was recorded as employed, above the 94.8% average rate for England. Of those employed, 11.2% are self-employed, and 88.8% are employees.
The Annual Population Survey for 2021 published by the ONS reports the percentage of the Essex working-age (aged 16-64) population who have a degree or higher is 35.5%, which is below the 42.8% degree qualification rate for England.
Over 54% of the Essex working-age population have at least 2 A-levels (or equivalent), and 5% have no qualifications.
Qualifications classifications
Main page: Essex Salary
The average salary in Essex as of 2022 is £38,021. Between 2021 and 2022, average salaries grew by £1,740. Compare average salaries by area.
Essex's salary growth rate is 4.80% per year based on changes in average salary between 2021 and 2022, which is 4.80% higher than the average salary growth rate in Essex over the past 9 years.
In Essex, the highest average wages are found in Brentwood where the average salary is £43,017 and the lowest average wages are found in Tendring where the average salary is £34,576. The difference in average salary between the two areas is £8,441 - the average person in Brentwood earns 24.4% more than the average person in Tendring.
Business data published by the ONS in 2021 show the most common job group in Essex is Administrative Occupations, accounting for 10% of all roles in the area. In England as a whole, the largest job group is Business & Public Service Assoc. Professionals.
The fastest-growing type of job in Essex is Health & Social Care Assoc. Professionals, with roles increasing 129% between July 2021 and July 2022. In England, the fastest-growing type of role is Corporate Managers And Directors.
Occupation | Number | Percentage | CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative Occupations | 74,400 | 10.1% | -4.7% |
| Elementary Administration & Service Occs | 66,500 | 9.0% | 56.8% |
| Science, Research, Engineering And Technology Profs | 64,500 | 8.7% | 78.2% |
| Business, Media And Public Service Professionals | 56,500 | 7.6% | 35.2% |
| Corporate Managers And Directors | 54,700 | 7.4% | -19.6% |
There was a 2% increase in roles between 2020 and 2021. In England as a whole, there was a 3% decrease.
Based on the total number of jobs, the largest industry in Essex is Health.
Financial & Insurance companies make up 2% of the Essex economy that's lower than the average for England as a whole (~3%).
4% of the total jobs in Essex are in Information and Communication, one of the key sectors for the future, below the 5% of jobs in England as a whole.
Industry | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Health | 82,000 | 13.3% |
| Retail | 59,000 | 9.6% |
| Education | 57,000 | 9.3% |
| Business Administration & Support Services | 56,000 | 9.1% |
| Professional, Scientific & Technical | 52,000 | 8.5% |
The fastest-growing industry in Essex is Property, with jobs in the sector increasing 22% between 2020 and 2021 from 9,000 to 11,000. In England more broadly the fastest-growing industry is Healthcare.
The industry with the biggest decline in Essex between 2020 and 2021 was Mining, quarrying & utilities, which saw an 25% decrease in roles, going from 8,000 to 6,000. In England more broadly the industry with the biggest year on year decline was Arts, entertainment & recreation, with roles decreasing by 8%.
The Information and communication industry includes many of the top companies of the future. In Essex, the number of roles in this sector has risen by 10% over the past year, above the 1% annual increase seen in England.
Essex Demographics
Essex Crime
Rental Market of Essex
2022 UK Business Count data published by the ONS show there are 180 large businesses in Essex, making up 0.3% of total businesses - in England, 0.4% of businesses are large. A large business is defined as having over 250 employees.
There are 920 medium-sized businesses based in Essex, making up 1.4% of total businesses - in England, 1.5% of businesses are medium-sized. A medium-sized business is defined as having between 50 and 249 employees.
There are 5,590 small businesses based in Essex, making up 8.4% of total businesses - in England, 8.3% of businesses are small. A small business is defined as having between 10 and 49 employees.
Essex's unemployment rate is 2.6% that's 3% lower than the average unemployment rate for England as a whole. Unemployment rates are the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the working-age population.
The main group within the unemployment population is Student, representing 22.6% of the unemployed population.
Secondary classifications include groups: looking after family, long-term sick, retired, other, all of which represent over 10% of the unemployed population.
In England as a whole, students are the main group within the unemployed population, accounting for 28.9% of the unemployed population.
Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2022. Data sources: ONS Local statistics