# Employment rate: highest and lowest councils in East Midlands (March 2026)

Blaby had the highest employment rate of East Midlands’s 35 councils in March 2026, at 85.3%.

Nottingham had the lowest, at 66.1%. The middle council, South Kesteven, had 77.3%.

| Rank | Area | Employment rate | Note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Blaby](https://openindex.co.uk/blaby) | 85.3% | – |
| 2 | [Derbyshire Dales](https://openindex.co.uk/derbyshire-dales) | 84.1% | ONS rates this figure as uncertain. The survey sample in this council is small, so the margin of error is wide (more than 7.5 percentage points either way) or ONS does not publish one. |
| 3 | [Melton](https://openindex.co.uk/melton) | 84.0% | ONS rates this figure as uncertain. The survey sample in this council is small, so the margin of error is wide (more than 7.5 percentage points either way) or ONS does not publish one. |
| 4 | [Harborough](https://openindex.co.uk/harborough) | 83.3% | – |
| 5 | [Hinckley and Bosworth](https://openindex.co.uk/hinckley-and-bosworth) | 82.6% | – |
| 6 | [Erewash](https://openindex.co.uk/erewash) | 82.2% | – |
| 7 | [South Holland](https://openindex.co.uk/south-holland) | 81.4% | – |
| 8 | [Lincoln](https://openindex.co.uk/lincoln) | 79.8% | – |
| =9 | [North Northamptonshire](https://openindex.co.uk/north-northamptonshire) | 79.6% | – |
| =9 | [North West Leicestershire](https://openindex.co.uk/north-west-leicestershire) | 79.6% | – |
| 11 | [South Derbyshire](https://openindex.co.uk/south-derbyshire) | 79.5% | – |
| 12 | [Gedling](https://openindex.co.uk/gedling) | 79.4% | – |
| 13 | [Rushcliffe](https://openindex.co.uk/rushcliffe) | 78.8% | – |
| 14 | [Amber Valley](https://openindex.co.uk/amber-valley) | 78.6% | – |
| 15 | [Bassetlaw](https://openindex.co.uk/bassetlaw) | 78.0% | – |
| 16 | [Chesterfield](https://openindex.co.uk/chesterfield) | 77.7% | – |
| 17 | [West Lindsey](https://openindex.co.uk/west-lindsey) | 77.4% | ONS rates this figure as uncertain. The survey sample in this council is small, so the margin of error is wide (more than 7.5 percentage points either way) or ONS does not publish one. |
| 18 | [South Kesteven](https://openindex.co.uk/south-kesteven) | 77.3% | – |
| 19 | [Oadby and Wigston](https://openindex.co.uk/oadby-and-wigston) | 77.1% | ONS rates this figure as uncertain. The survey sample in this council is small, so the margin of error is wide (more than 7.5 percentage points either way) or ONS does not publish one. |
| 20 | [North East Derbyshire](https://openindex.co.uk/north-east-derbyshire) | 77.0% | – |
| 21 | [West Northamptonshire](https://openindex.co.uk/west-northamptonshire) | 76.6% | – |
| 22 | [North Kesteven](https://openindex.co.uk/north-kesteven) | 76.5% | – |
| 23 | [Newark and Sherwood](https://openindex.co.uk/newark-and-sherwood) | 75.8% | – |
| 24 | [Charnwood](https://openindex.co.uk/charnwood) | 74.8% | – |
| 25 | [Rutland](https://openindex.co.uk/rutland) | 74.3% | – |
| 26 | [Boston](https://openindex.co.uk/boston) | 73.7% | ONS rates this figure as uncertain. The survey sample in this council is small, so the margin of error is wide (more than 7.5 percentage points either way) or ONS does not publish one. |
| 27 | [Ashfield](https://openindex.co.uk/ashfield) | 73.2% | – |
| 28 | [Derby](https://openindex.co.uk/derby) | 72.7% | – |
| =29 | [Broxtowe](https://openindex.co.uk/broxtowe) | 70.8% | ONS rates this figure as uncertain. The survey sample in this council is small, so the margin of error is wide (more than 7.5 percentage points either way) or ONS does not publish one. |
| =29 | [Mansfield](https://openindex.co.uk/mansfield) | 70.8% | ONS rates this figure as uncertain. The survey sample in this council is small, so the margin of error is wide (more than 7.5 percentage points either way) or ONS does not publish one. |
| 31 | [High Peak](https://openindex.co.uk/high-peak) | 70.5% | ONS rates this figure as uncertain. The survey sample in this council is small, so the margin of error is wide (more than 7.5 percentage points either way) or ONS does not publish one. |
| 32 | [Bolsover](https://openindex.co.uk/bolsover) | 70.2% | ONS rates this figure as uncertain. The survey sample in this council is small, so the margin of error is wide (more than 7.5 percentage points either way) or ONS does not publish one. |
| 33 | [East Lindsey](https://openindex.co.uk/east-lindsey) | 67.4% | ONS rates this figure as uncertain. The survey sample in this council is small, so the margin of error is wide (more than 7.5 percentage points either way) or ONS does not publish one. |
| 34 | [Leicester](https://openindex.co.uk/leicester) | 67.1% | – |
| 35 | [Nottingham](https://openindex.co.uk/nottingham) | 66.1% | – |

Source: Annual Population Survey, ONS population survey. Covers Great Britain. Period: March 2026. Period: March 2026.

## Other rankings of this measure

- [Great Britain](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/employment/uk)
- [England](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/employment/england)
- [Scotland](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/employment/scotland)
- [Wales](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/employment/wales)
- [North East](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/employment/north-east)
- [North West](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/employment/north-west)
- [Yorkshire and The Humber](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/employment/yorkshire-and-the-humber)
- [West Midlands](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/employment/west-midlands)
- [East of England](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/employment/east-of-england)
- [London](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/employment/london)
- [South East](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/employment/south-east)
- [South West](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/employment/south-west)

- [The map](https://openindex.co.uk/map/employment)
- [Source and method](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/employment)

## How to cite

Source: Open Index, openindex.co.uk. Link to this page, https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/employment/east-midlands.

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 2026.10.11. The HTML page: https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/employment/east-midlands