Employment and income
Alongside the Thames Freeport, Thurrock’s growth potential is ambitious, with the potential for new jobs created by business investment, including ports, logistic centres, retail and creative industries. However, the benefits of previous growth have not been felt equally across all Thurrock residents.
Thurrock’s economy is dominated by small (10-49 employees) and micro-businesses (up to 9 employees), making up 98.4% of all firms; however, there are several notable large employers, such as Amazon, Forth Ports (Port of Tilbury) and DP World. The industries which employ the most people in Thurrock are transport and storage (25% compared to 6% regionally and 5% nationally) and wholesale, retail trade and repair of motor vehicles.
Lower numbers of people in Thurrock are employed in managerial and professional occupations compared to the region and Great Britain average. Thurrock has a higher than average proportion of people working in administration and secretarial occupations as well as process plant, machine operatives and manual/physical labour occupations in industries such as agriculture, manufacturing, and construction.
Employment and unemployment details are reported in the Office for National Statistics: labour market profile for Thurrock.
| Employment status, aged 16 to 64 | Thurrock | East region | Great Britain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economically active in employment, April 2024 to March 2025 | 81.8% | 81.0% | 78.5% |
| Economically active but unemployed, April 2024 to March 2025 | 4.7% | 3.5% | 3.9% |
Details of average weekly earnings come from the Office of National Statistics' annual survey of hours and earnings, 2024.
| Average weekly earnings | Thurrock | East region | UK |
|---|---|---|---|
| People who work in the area | £699.40 | £724.60 | £729.60 |
| People who are residents in the area | £798.80 | £763.50 | £729.80 |
Details of work places come from the Office of National Statistics annual population survey, 2011.
| Place of work | Total |
|---|---|
| Thurrock residents who live and work in Thurrock | 43,076 |
| People who work in Thurrock but commute from other areas | 19,141 |
| Thurrock residents who commute to other areas for work | 31,956 |
More information
Download a summary of population breakdown, mental health and Universal Credit claims.