# Economy and work in Birmingham The middle of the West Midlands. 1,176,960 people (mid-2025 estimate) in 268 square kilometres. 4 layers about economy and work for Birmingham, each at the level its publisher released it, with its own date and source. In: [West Midlands](https://openindex.co.uk/west-midlands) ## Median full-time pay Birmingham: **£35,989** (2025, council level, Great Britain only). Source: ONS earnings survey. Published 23 October 2025. Full-time workers living in Birmingham earned a median of £35,989 in 2025. [Map](https://openindex.co.uk/map/median-pay?place=E08000025) · [Source and method](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/median-pay) · [Ranking](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/median-pay/west-midlands) · https://openindex.co.uk/birmingham/economy#l-median-pay-full-time ## People claiming out-of-work benefits Birmingham: **77,930** (August 2026, council level). Source: ONS via Nomis. Published 15 September 2026. In Birmingham, 77,930 people were claiming out-of-work benefits in August 2026. [Map](https://openindex.co.uk/map/claimants?place=E08000025) · [Source and method](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/claimants) · https://openindex.co.uk/birmingham/economy#l-claimant-count ## Claimant rate Birmingham: **10.1%** (August 2026, council level). Source: ONS via Nomis. Published 15 September 2026. In Birmingham, 10.1% of residents aged 16 to 64 were claiming out-of-work benefits in August 2026. For the UK as a whole, the figure was 3.9%. - Against West Midlands: 1.9 times (5.3%) - Against the UK: 2.6 times (3.9%) [Map](https://openindex.co.uk/map/claimant-rate?place=E08000025) · [Source and method](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/claimant-rate) · [Ranking](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/west-midlands) · https://openindex.co.uk/birmingham/economy#l-claimant-rate ## Employment rate Birmingham: **66.8%** (March 2026, council level, Great Britain only). Source: ONS population survey. Published 21 July 2026. 66.8% of people aged 16 to 64 in Birmingham were in work in the year to March 2026. Birmingham is 18th lowest of 348 for employment rate. [Map](https://openindex.co.uk/map/employment?place=E08000025) · [Source and method](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/employment) · [Ranking](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/employment/west-midlands) · https://openindex.co.uk/birmingham/economy#l-employment-rate ## More on this place - [Overview](https://openindex.co.uk/birmingham) - [Housing](https://openindex.co.uk/birmingham/housing) (17) - [Crime](https://openindex.co.uk/birmingham/crime) (13) - [People](https://openindex.co.uk/birmingham/people) (24) - [Deprivation](https://openindex.co.uk/birmingham/deprivation) (8) - [Health](https://openindex.co.uk/birmingham/health) (4) - [Education](https://openindex.co.uk/birmingham/education) (2) - [Environment](https://openindex.co.uk/birmingham/environment) (9) - [Transport](https://openindex.co.uk/birmingham/transport) (4) - [Connectivity](https://openindex.co.uk/birmingham/connectivity) (5) - [Planning](https://openindex.co.uk/birmingham/planning) (3) - [Council tax](https://openindex.co.uk/birmingham/council-tax) (10) - [Elections](https://openindex.co.uk/birmingham/elections) (7) - [Local services](https://openindex.co.uk/birmingham/services) (3) - [Sources](https://openindex.co.uk/birmingham/sources) (28) The same figures as JSON: https://openindex.co.uk/v1/places/E08000025/data?family=economy ## How to cite Source: Open Index, openindex.co.uk. Link to this page, https://openindex.co.uk/birmingham/economy, or to one figure with its anchor, https://openindex.co.uk/birmingham/economy#l-median-pay-full-time. Open Index's own text and the figures it works out are licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Source data keeps its publishers' licences, named with each figure. Give each figure's period and source with it. Snapshot 2026.10.9. The HTML page: https://openindex.co.uk/birmingham/economy