Southwark
Economic profile. Data last updated 2026-03-28.
Southwark supports 289,390 workplace jobs with median earnings 30% above the England average. The claimant rate (5.7%) is higher than the England average of 4.1%.
Source: ONS, Nomis, HM Land Registry, 2024-2025·Last updated March 2026
Employment & Labour Market
Monthly claimant count rate over the past 3 years.
Source: Claimant Count via Nomis, BRES, 2020-2026·Last updated March 2026
Industry Structure
Location quotients and shift-share analysis for Southwark's economy.
The most specialised sectors are Information & communication (LQ 2.45) and Professional, scientific & technical (LQ 2.33). Information & communication shows the strongest local competitive advantage. Public administration & defence underperforms its national sectoral trend.
Source: BRES via Nomis, 2020-2024·Last updated March 2026
Economic Output
Estimated Gross Value Added for Southwark, derived from sector employment and national productivity ratios.
Estimates based on national GVA-per-job ratios applied to local sector employment (BRES). Indicative only. See Methodology for details.
Earnings & Income
Gross annual earnings distribution, 2025.
Median annual earnings of £43,006 are significantly above the England median of £33,080.
Source: ASHE via Nomis, 2025·Last updated March 2026
Skills & Qualifications
Census 2021 highest qualification and occupation data.
Source: Census 2021, ONS
Demographics
Census 2021 population by age band.
The population is 307,635 with 75.9% of working age. The dependency ratio is 31.8% (below average, indicating a predominantly working-age population).
Source: Census 2021, ONS·Last updated 2021
Commuting & Travel to Work
Census 2021 method of travel to work for Southwark residents.
48.4% of residents work from home (well above the national average). The most common commute method is bus, minibus or coach (13.9%).
Source: Census 2021 TS061, ONS·Last updated 2021
Business Environment
Active enterprises in Southwark from the UK Business Counts dataset.
15,845 active enterprises operate in this area. The business base has grown by 1.4% over three years. 74.5% of enterprises have fewer than 5 employees.
Source: UK Business Counts via Nomis, 2024·Last updated March 2026
Housing & Property Market
Estimated house prices for Southwark vs England, 2015-2025.
The median house price of £358,167 is significantly above the England median of £290,000. The price-to-earnings ratio is 8.3x. Prices have risen 1.8% over the past year.
Source: HM Land Registry, Census 2021, 2015-2025·Last updated March 2026
Place & Deprivation
Index of Multiple Deprivation 2019. Southwark is ranked 43 out of 317 local authorities (1 = most deprived).
Ranked 43rd of 317 local authorities on the IMD (1 = most deprived). The most challenging domain is Living Environment (ranked 12th), while Education, Skills & Training ranks comparatively better (262nd).
Source: MHCLG English Indices of Deprivation, 2019·Last updated 2019
Impact Calculator
Estimate the economic impact of investment or job creation in Southwark using regional input-output multipliers.
Source: Derived from ONS Supply-Use Tables, regionalized via SLQ, 2019·Last updated March 2026