Average house price compared with resident median annual pay.
South East England Employment Rate
Employment, unemployment and population indicators for reading South East England property prices and rents in wider labour-market context.
Employment rate
78.2%
Aged 16-64
Unemployment rate
4.1%
Economically active
Economic inactivity
18.4%
Aged 16-64
Resident population
9,638,645
ONS 2024
Apr 2026-Jun 2026 / ASHE 2025
South East England labour-market context
Employment data does not predict house prices by itself, but it helps frame affordability and local economic context.
Resident population
9,638,645
ONS 2024
Median resident annual pay
£42,390
South East England
Median resident weekly pay
£815
Full-time employees
Employment rate
78.2%
Aged 16-64
Unemployment rate
4.1%
Economically active
Average monthly rent compared with estimated monthly earnings.
Labour market rates are from the ONS Annual Population Survey profile shown by Nomis. Where the local APS unemployment value is suppressed, the ONS model-based unemployment estimate is used. Earnings are ONS ASHE resident-analysis median full-time employee earnings. Annual pay is annualised from weekly pay for display context.
South East England combines a large resident base with relatively strong labour-market metrics. The region had a resident population of 9,638,645 in 2024, according to the official ONS/Nomis profile.
That scale matters for housing context because it points to a broad and diverse local workforce, rather than a small or narrowly concentrated labour market.