# Economy and work in Forest of Dean The north of the South West. 90,157 people (mid-2025 estimate) in 526 square kilometres. 4 layers about economy and work for Forest of Dean, each at the level its publisher released it, with its own date and source. In: [South West](https://openindex.co.uk/south-west) ## Median full-time pay Forest of Dean: **£42,326** (2025, council level, Great Britain only). Source: ONS earnings survey. Published 23 October 2025. Full-time workers living in Forest of Dean earned a median of £42,326 in 2025. [Map](https://openindex.co.uk/map/median-pay#place=E07000080) · [Source and method](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/median-pay) · [Ranking](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/median-pay/south-west) · https://openindex.co.uk/forest-of-dean/economy#l-median-pay-full-time ## People claiming out-of-work benefits Forest of Dean: **1,375** (August 2026, council level). Source: ONS via Nomis. Published 15 September 2026. In Forest of Dean, 1,375 people were claiming out-of-work benefits in August 2026. [Map](https://openindex.co.uk/map/claimants#place=E07000080) · [Source and method](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/claimants) · https://openindex.co.uk/forest-of-dean/economy#l-claimant-count ## Claimant rate Forest of Dean: **2.6%** (August 2026, council level). Source: ONS via Nomis. Published 15 September 2026. In Forest of Dean, 2.6% 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 South West: 4% lower (2.7%) - Against the UK: 33% lower (3.9%) [Map](https://openindex.co.uk/map/claimant-rate#place=E07000080) · [Source and method](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/claimant-rate) · [Ranking](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/south-west) · https://openindex.co.uk/forest-of-dean/economy#l-claimant-rate ## Employment rate Forest of Dean: **73.5%** (March 2026, council level, Great Britain only). Source: ONS population survey. Published 21 July 2026. 73.5% of people aged 16 to 64 in Forest of Dean were in work in the year to March 2026. Forest of Dean is joint 104th lowest of 348 for employment rate. [Map](https://openindex.co.uk/map/employment#place=E07000080) · [Source and method](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/employment) · [Ranking](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/employment/south-west) · https://openindex.co.uk/forest-of-dean/economy#l-employment-rate ## More on this place - [Overview](https://openindex.co.uk/forest-of-dean) - [Housing](https://openindex.co.uk/forest-of-dean/housing) (17) - [Crime](https://openindex.co.uk/forest-of-dean/crime) (1) - [People](https://openindex.co.uk/forest-of-dean/people) (24) - [Deprivation](https://openindex.co.uk/forest-of-dean/deprivation) (8) - [Health](https://openindex.co.uk/forest-of-dean/health) (4) - [Education](https://openindex.co.uk/forest-of-dean/education) (2) - [Environment](https://openindex.co.uk/forest-of-dean/environment) (9) - [Transport](https://openindex.co.uk/forest-of-dean/transport) (4) - [Connectivity](https://openindex.co.uk/forest-of-dean/connectivity) (5) - [Planning](https://openindex.co.uk/forest-of-dean/planning) (3) - [Council tax](https://openindex.co.uk/forest-of-dean/council-tax) (10) - [Elections](https://openindex.co.uk/forest-of-dean/elections) (7) - [Local services](https://openindex.co.uk/forest-of-dean/services) (3) - [Sources](https://openindex.co.uk/forest-of-dean/sources) (28) The same figures as JSON: https://openindex.co.uk/v1/places/E07000080/data?family=economy ## How to cite Source: Open Index, openindex.co.uk. Link to this page, https://openindex.co.uk/forest-of-dean/economy, or to one figure with its anchor, https://openindex.co.uk/forest-of-dean/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 2026.10.10. The HTML page: https://openindex.co.uk/forest-of-dean/economy