UK Business Information / South East

The workforce in the South East, as in London, comprises mainly of highly skilled employees. In recent years, the manufacturing industry in the South East has declined and been replaced by a knowledge-driven economy.

34.4% of the region's population are educated to NVQ level 4 or above.

The table below shows how the South East's population divides up among the core industry demographics:

EMPLOYMENT JOBS BY INDUSTRY (thousands):

Original data taken from ONS - labour market statistics

Evidence of how intrinsic the knowledge-based economy is to the region can be seen by the fact that 1.3 million people are now employed as managers and senior officials/professionals in the South East, accounting for 32% of all occupations; a rise of 13% over the last 8 years.

The public sector remains the largest industry in the South East.

Around 9% of the region's population work in the financial services industry. In particular, areas such as Surrey, Kent and Berkshire have skilled financial workforces.

Although there are many international companies based in the South East, 99.6% of businesses in the region are SMEs. Over 100,000 people in the South East are self-employed.

There is some disparity in skills between coastal South East and inner South East England, the latter having a higher number of graduates and those educated to NVQ level 4.