Employment Rate for Local Areas

January 2008

Introduction

The Annual Population Survey (APS) is a survey of households in Great Britain with the purpose to provide information on key social and socio-economic variables between the 10-yearly censuses. The employment rates in this research monitor are based on the findings from the APS and from its predecessor the Labour Force Survey.

The employment rate (also called the employment-to-population ratio) is one of the economic indicators that economists use to help understand the state of the economy. Employment rates can be presented for any population group, as the proportion of that group, who are in employment.

The employment rate most commonly used is described as the proportion of the population of working age (16-59 for females and 16-64 for males) who are in employment. This is the definition used in this report. Other things being equal, regions or areas with higher employment rates are more likely to have higher standards of living as they will have a higher percentage of the population generating income.

National and Regional Context

The five-year period from 2002 to 2006 reveals that at the national level, the employment rate has remained relatively stable at 74.3%. In comparison, for the North West as a whole employment rates over the same period have been consistently below 73%, with the latest 2006 result being 72.5%.

Lancashire

For the Lancashire NUTS-2 area, that includes the two unitary authorities of Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool, the five-year period saw employment rates occupy the middle ground between the higher GB rates and the lower North West rates. Given the sample size of the Labour Force Survey, it is only possible to obtain a broad indication of employment rates at the broader Lancashire level rather than to be able to accurately monitor yearly changes.

The problem of data accuracy becomes far more acute at the local authority level, therefore all the district and unitary authority results should be viewed with extreme caution. At the district level, the sample size can be quite small, e.g., the 2006 result for Ribble Valley is based on just 143 respondents.

The broad indications that can be derived from this set of data are that high employment rates appear to be consistently recorded in Chorley, Ribble Valley and South Ribble, whilst the East Lancashire authorities of Blackburn with Darwen, Hyndburn, Burnley and Pendle have patterns of low employment rates.

Table 1 Employment Rates, 2002-2006

Employment Rate
Working Age Population
January 2006 to December 2006 (rounded)
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
Number in Employment
Estimate of Total

Burnley
72.2
77.3
70.7
70.4
70.4
38,400
54,500
Chorley
79.0
78.0
78.2
79.2
84.3
52,500
62,200
Fylde
74.1
76.2
76.9
76.8
76.5
32,800
42,900
Hyndburn
71.3
75.8
71.7
68.2
68.0
33,500
49,300
Lancaster
72.1
71.6
64.0
72.4
71.3
60,200
84,500
Pendle
69.6
79.2
70.1
71.2
70.1
37,500
53,500
Preston
74.2
72.3
70.7
66.8
70.8
58,700
82,900
Ribble Valley
81.7
80.4
77.6
82.1
83.8
26,600
31,700
Rossendale
76.2
87.1
76.9
74.8
74.0
29,900
40,400
South Ribble
79.6
81.2
81.4
81.4
81.5
52,300
64,100
West Lancashire
74.8
74.7
74.6
76.6
72.7
47,800
65,700
Wyre
74.9
80.5
79.4
77.3
73.5
44,000
59,900

Lancashire County
74.8
77.2
73.8
74.3
74.3
514,200
691,700

Blackburn with Darwen
67.4
69.9
69.9
68.4
67.1
55,800
83,100
Blackpool
71.7
70.0
71.6
71.4
69.9
57,800
82,600

Lancashire NUTS-2
73.8
75.8
73.2
73.7
73.2
627,700
857,400

North West
71.4
72.8
72.6
72.6
72.5
2,978,000
4,105,200
Great Britain
74.2
74.3
74.4
74.5
74.3
26,407,100
35,558,700
Notes Figures not seasonally adjusted. Data for 2002 and 2003 actually relate to the period March to February in the following year. For 2004-2006, the figures are for January to December for each year.
Source Office for National Statistics via NOMIS Local Area Labour Force Survey, 2002-2006

This page was compiled by Bryan Moulding .

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