Area type
County
Population
1,497,759
GDP
£42 billion
Average salary
£36,281
Labour force
903,757
Job Density
0.79
View trend
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View breakdown
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Essex was worth an estimated £42 billion in 2019, according to figures published by the ONS. Essex's GDP growth between 2018 and 2019 was 2.8% per year. Compare GDP by area.
The Health industry is the largest in Essex based on the number of jobs, accounting for 13.6% of roles in the area.
2019 ONS figures suggest that there are 715,000 jobs in Essex, which has a working-age (aged 16-65) population of 903,757. The 2019 job density in Essex is 0.79, meaning there are 0.79 jobs per member of the Essex working-age population.
Essex had a mean average salary for full-time employees of £36,281 in 2021. Essex's unemployment rate is 4.3% as of 2021. Compare unemployment rate by area.
The 2019 labour force or working-age population in Essex is 903,757 or 60.3% of the total population.
In 2021, 95.7% of the labour market was recorded as employed, above the 94.8% average rate for England. Of those employed, 13.9% are self-employed, and 86.1% are employees.
The Annual Population Survey for 2020 published by the ONS reports the percentage of the Essex working-age (aged 16-64) population who have a degree or higher is 35.0%, which is below the 42.8% degree qualification rate for England.
Over 56% of the Essex working-age population have at least 2 A-levels (or equivalent), and 5% have no qualifications.
Qualifications classifications
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Main page: Essex Salary
The average salary in Essex as of 2021 is £36,281. Between 2020 and 2021, average salaries fell by £37. Compare average salaries by area.
Essex's salary growth rate is -0.10% per year based on changes in average salary between 2020 and 2021, which is 0.10% lower 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 £38,732 and the lowest average wages are found in Maldon where the average salary is £31,514. The difference in average salary between the two areas is £7,218 - the average person in Brentwood earns 22.9% more than the average person in Maldon.
Business data published by the ONS in 2020 show the most common job group in Essex is Administrative Occupations, accounting for 11% 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 Business & Public Service Assoc. Professionals, with roles increasing 53% between July 2020 and July 2021. In England, the fastest-growing type of role is Corporate Managers And Directors.
Occupation | Number | Percentage | CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative Occupations | 78,100 | 10.9% | 24.2% |
| Business & Public Service Assoc. Professionals | 76,800 | 10.7% | 53.0% |
| Corporate Managers And Directors | 68,000 | 9.5% | -11.5% |
| Elementary Administration & Service Occs | 42,400 | 5.9% | -25.4% |
| Business, Media And Public Service Professionals | 41,800 | 5.8% | 3.7% |
There was a 1% decrease in roles between 2019 and 2020. In England as a whole, there was a 2% decrease.
Based on the total number of jobs, the largest industry in Essex is Health. Other major industries include Retail, which represents over 10% of roles in Essex.
Financial & Insurance companies make up 3% of the Essex economy that's lower than the average for England as a whole (~3%).
3% 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 | 13.6% |
| Retail | 63,000 | 10.4% |
| Construction | 52,000 | 8.6% |
| Business Administration & Support | 51,000 | 8.4% |
| Professional, Scientific & Technical | 50,000 | 8.3% |
The fastest-growing industry in Essex is Mining, Quarrying & Utilities, with jobs in the sector increasing 33% between 2019 and 2020 from 6,000 to 8,000. In England more broadly the fastest-growing industry is Healthcare.
The industry with the biggest decline in Essex between 2019 and 2020 was Property, which saw an 25% decrease in roles, going from 12,000 to 9,000. 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 fallen by 0% over the past year, below the 1% annual increase seen in England.
Essex Demographics
Essex Crime
Rental Market of Essex
2021 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 5,405 small businesses based in Essex, making up 8.1% 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 4.3% that's 1% 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 24.5% 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 2021. Data sources: ONS Local statistics