The resident population of Woking is highly qualified with 60% of its working age population qualified to Level 4 and above (Degree or higher). This is above the rate for Surrey (53%) as well as the wider south east (40%) and EM3 areas (52%).
Until the pandemic, Woking, like most areas across the South East was reaching full employment, with low numbers of claimants and a high Job Density number.
However the impact of the pandemic has seen unemployment rise again to levels seen around the 2008 Financial Crisis with an impact in particular on young people (aged 18-24).
Skills Strengths
Woking and the surrounding EM3 area contains a higher concentration of high-skilled jobs than the national average. Of this, employment is within Professional, Scientific & Technical activities and Information & Communications is high with 13% and 10% for Woking and to 12% and 7% for the EM3 area, both of which are higher than the 9% and 4% nationally.
Other high-skilled professions reflect proportional employment levels similar to the national average: Education, Health and Financial professions
Woking has a concentrated professional and technical resident workforce. Between 2019-20, 64% of Woking residents were employed in managerial, professional and technical skilled occupations; a little higher than the EM3 area (60%) much greater than the national levels at 49%.
