# Economy and work in Highland North west Scotland. 237,260 people (mid-2025 estimate) in 26,159 square kilometres, the 2nd most sparsely populated council in the UK. 4 layers about economy and work for Highland, each at the level its publisher released it, with its own date and source. In: [Scotland](https://openindex.co.uk/scotland) ## Median full-time pay Highland: **£39,740** (2025, council level, Great Britain only). Source: ONS earnings survey. Published 23 October 2025. Full-time workers living in Highland earned a median of £39,740 in 2025. [Map](https://openindex.co.uk/map/median-pay?place=S12000017) · [Source and method](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/median-pay) · [Ranking](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/median-pay/scotland) · https://openindex.co.uk/highland/economy#l-median-pay-full-time ## People claiming out-of-work benefits Highland: **3,230** (August 2026, council level). Source: ONS via Nomis. Published 15 September 2026. In Highland, 3,230 people were claiming out-of-work benefits in August 2026. [Map](https://openindex.co.uk/map/claimants?place=S12000017) · [Source and method](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/claimants) · https://openindex.co.uk/highland/economy#l-claimant-count ## Claimant rate Highland: **2.3%** (August 2026, council level). Source: ONS via Nomis. Published 15 September 2026. In Highland, 2.3% 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 Scotland: 28% lower (3.2%) - Against the UK: 41% lower (3.9%) [Map](https://openindex.co.uk/map/claimant-rate?place=S12000017) · [Source and method](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/claimant-rate) · [Ranking](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/scotland) · https://openindex.co.uk/highland/economy#l-claimant-rate ## Employment rate Highland: **72.6%** (March 2026, council level, Great Britain only). Source: ONS population survey. Published 21 July 2026. 72.6% of people aged 16 to 64 in Highland were in work in the year to March 2026. Highland is joint 83rd lowest of 348 for employment rate. [Map](https://openindex.co.uk/map/employment?place=S12000017) · [Source and method](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/employment) · [Ranking](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/employment/scotland) · https://openindex.co.uk/highland/economy#l-employment-rate ## More on this place - [Overview](https://openindex.co.uk/highland) - [Housing](https://openindex.co.uk/highland/housing) (8) - [Crime](https://openindex.co.uk/highland/crime) (6) - [People](https://openindex.co.uk/highland/people) (15) - [Deprivation](https://openindex.co.uk/highland/deprivation) (2) - [Health](https://openindex.co.uk/highland/health) (4) - [Education](https://openindex.co.uk/highland/education) (2) - [Environment](https://openindex.co.uk/highland/environment) (5) - [Transport](https://openindex.co.uk/highland/transport) (4) - [Connectivity](https://openindex.co.uk/highland/connectivity) (5) - [Council tax](https://openindex.co.uk/highland/council-tax) (2) - [Elections](https://openindex.co.uk/highland/elections) (7) - [Local services](https://openindex.co.uk/highland/services) (1) - [Sources](https://openindex.co.uk/highland/sources) (22) The same figures as JSON: https://openindex.co.uk/v1/places/S12000017/data?family=economy ## How to cite Source: Open Index, openindex.co.uk. Link to this page, https://openindex.co.uk/highland/economy, or to one figure with its anchor, https://openindex.co.uk/highland/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 2026.10.8, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23508850. The HTML page: https://openindex.co.uk/highland/economy