Why payrolled employment figures matter to businesses

While a decrease in payrolled employment figures can be explained by growing levels of self-employment, it can also indicate businesses delaying or cancelling recruitment of workers, or businesses making redundancies. This can then lead to a reduced rate of economic growth.

The latest figures for Buckinghamshire

Using the latest figures for payrolled employment, with seasonal adjustments, payrolled employment in Buckinghamshire decreased by 224 from July 2025 to August 2025. Unadjusted, payrolled employment decreased by 1,317 from July 2025 to August 2025. 

From October 2024 to September 2025, payrolled employment in Buckinghamshire decreased by some 1,204 when adjusting for seasonal effects, according to revised estimates of payrolled employment. This was a slightly faster rate of job losses than the national average, with employment down 0.5% compared to 0.4% nationally.

However, in the three months to September 2025, there has been limited change in payrolled employment - a net decrease of 35.

As a result, while the recent decrease in payrolled employment has started to level out, there has been little sign of recovery in payrolled employment in Buckinghamshire.

Source: Earnings and employment from Pay As You Earn Real Time Information, seasonally adjusted, ONS