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The (External) Office for National Statistics (ONS) has introduced a new local area labour market indicator on "Job Densities". This is an indicator of labour demand and is defined simply as the number of filled jobs in an area divided by the number of working age people resident in that area (see full definition below). The indicator may be used alongside the numbers of job vacancies, which is another labour demand indicator. Conversely, employment and unemployment rates are measures of actual labour supply.
In areas with high jobs densities the demand exceeds the supply and whilst this might nominally offer potential job opportunities for residents of the area, the imbalance may be satisfied by workers who live outside the area (inward commuting). In areas with low jobs densities the supply exceeds the demand, and often residents will have to work in other areas (outward commuting) or be unemployed or economically inactive. It should be recognised, however, that there might not be a match between the jobs on offer in a given local area and the skills possessed by the resident working-age population in that area. In such cases both inward and outward commuting may occur and unemployment may exist
In the UK in 2004, there were on average 0.83 jobs per person of working age. In the North West it was fractionally lower at 0.81. Exceptionally, at the very extreme there were just under 50 jobs per working age resident in the City of London, the local authority with the highest job density. This was clearly highly atypical and was due to the area's unique nature, having many workplaces, some 328,000, but very few residents, just 7,000. The highest jobs density for an urban area outside London was 1.40 jobs per working-age resident, in Crawley, West Sussex. By contrast, the local authority with the lowest was Chester-le-Street in Durham, where there were only 0.38 jobs per person. Within the North West Region, the local authority with the highest jobs density was found in Preston (1.19), marginally above Manchester Metropolitan Borough (1.17). The lowest jobs densities were found in Wigan (0.61) and St. Helens (0.61).
Preston was ranked in 11th position in terms of jobs densities out of 272 local authorities, Manchester Metropolitan Borough was in 14th position, Trafford 23rd, Chester 26th and the Fylde in 28th position. A further 10 of the 43 North West local authority districts have jobs densities that are above the UK average.
Jobs densities across Lancashire were generally more middling with four local districts having densities at or above the UK norm and ten below (Table 1). Across the UK some 51 local authorities have a jobs density of 1.0 or more, that is, at least one job for every working-age resident. Seven of these were North West authorities and two were in Lancashire – Preston (1.19) and the Fylde (1.05). The economic character of Preston as a major sub-regional administrative and commercial centre means that it enjoys a large net inward commuting flow. The Fylde, by contrast, has a relatively small working age population but a number of large employers, such as BAe Systems, British Nuclear Fuels, insurance and pension companies and central and local government offices, amongst others, which results in a marginal net inward commuting flow.
Ribble Valley (0.87) and Blackburn with Darwen (0.85) also have jobs densities fractionally above the UK average. Blackburn follows the general pattern of areas with higher jobs densities having a net inflow of commuters, whereas Ribble Valley bucks the trend and has a net outflow of commuters. The situation in Ribble Valley may be explained by a large employer in BAe Systems, and a number of industrial estates being located in the South of the borough, which attract inward commuting flows from neighbouring authorities, as well as Ribble Valley, conversely, being a significant dormitory location for commuters working in other parts of East and Central Lancashire, Greater Manchester and elsewhere, which results in the net outward commuting.
Blackpool (0.81) and Burnley (0.77) districts have jobs densities below the UK average and have marginal net inflows of commuters.
At the other extreme the lowest local jobs densities are to be found in Rossendale (0.63), Pendle (0.66), Hyndburn (0.66), Wyre (0.67), Chorley (0.71), West Lancashire (0.73), Lancaster (0.73) and South Ribble (0.76), each of which experience a large daily exodus of their residents to workcentres in other districts.
Changes in job densities can occur over time dependent upon changes both in the size of the working age population and the total number of jobs available locally. The following section highlights the job density changes in Lancashire between 2000 and 2004. In the interpretation of these trends it should be remembered that they are based on rounded estimated figures to the nearest 1,000 jobs and population. In the case of the "jobs count" especially, sometimes quite large differences can occur locally from year to year because of the temporary nature of some activities (e.g. construction) and also, for technical reasons, in the way that employee jobs nominally allocated to a particular employer pay-point, are geographically allocated.
The changes in jobs densities has taken place against the background of marginal increases in the working age populations of one or two thousand across ten of the fourteen Lancashire districts. Two of the four exceptions are Chorley and Wyre districts, which both recorded larger increases in their working age populations of 3,000 persons. The two remaining exceptions of Burnley and West Lancashire districts did not show a change in their working age populations at 2004 from 2000. Overall, the working age population has increased by 20,000 between 2000 and 2004 in the broader Lancashire NUTS-2 Area, which includes Lancashire County and the two unitary authorities of Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen.
The number of total jobs in the Lancashire NUTS-2 Area has increased by some 40,000 from 656,000 in 2000 to an all-time "high" of 696,000 in 2004. The change in total jobs at the district level, however, has been uneven and is described in further detail below within the context of job densities.
In recent years, the three East Lancashire districts of Rossendale, Pendle and Ribble Valley have recorded a decline in jobs densities within the period, falling by -0.07, -0.05 and -0.05, respectively (Table 1).
The jobs density in Rossendale declined by -0.07 between 2001 and 2004 to 0.63 (Table 1), reflecting a fall in total jobs of 2,000 over the period, in the context of a marginal rise in the level of the working age population.
Pendle's jobs density changed by -0.05 between 2002 and 2004 to 0.66 (Table 1), reflecting a fall in total jobs of 3,000 over the period and again in the context of a marginal rise in the level of the working age population.
In Ribble Valley, the jobs density also changed by -0.05 between 2002 and 2004 to 0.87 (Table 1), reflecting a fall in total jobs of 1,000 over the period, and also in the context of a marginal rise in the level of the working age population.
By contrast, jobs densities within the Fylde and Preston have both increased by +0.12 within the period (Table 1).
The Fylde recorded an increase in jobs density of +0.12 between 2002 and 2004, to 1.05 (Table 1), reflecting a recovery in total jobs of 6,000 between 2002 and 2003, which was maintained into 2004, and on top of an increasing working age population.
The jobs density in Preston also increased by +0.12 between 2000 and 2004 to 1.19 (Table 1), representing an increase in total jobs of 12,000, and within the context of a marginal increase in the level of the working age population.
In addition to the Fylde and Preston districts, jobs densities also increased in 9 other local authorities within the period. In both South Ribble and Wyre districts, jobs densities increased by +0.07. In Chorley, West Lancashire and Blackpool, jobs densities all increased by +0.06, in Lancaster by +0.04, in both Burnley and Blackburn by +0.03 and in Hyndburn, jobs densities rose by +0.02 (Table 1).
In South Ribble, the jobs density increased+0.07 between 2001 and 2004 to 0.76 (Table 1), reflecting an increase in total jobs of 6,000 and in the context of a marginal increase in the working age population of 1,000 persons.
The jobs density in Wyre also increased by +0.07 between 2001 and 2004 to 0.67 (Table 1), representing an increase in total jobs of 5,000, and on top of an increase in the level of the working age population of 3,000 persons.
Chorley's jobs density increased by +0.06 between 2001 and 2004 to 0.71 (Table 1), reflecting an increase in total jobs of 6,000 over the period and again in the context of a rise in the level of the working age population of 3,000 persons in the district.
In Blackpool, the jobs density recovered by+0.06 between 2003 and 2004 to 0.80 (Table 1), reflecting an increase in total jobs of 5,000 on the year. This is however still below the jobs densities of 0.84 to 0.86 recorded between 2000-2002 (Table 1) and some 3,000 jobs less than the total of 71,000 recorded in that period. Blackpool experienced a marginal increase in the working age population of 1,000 persons across the period.
The jobs density in West Lancashire also increased by +0.06 between 2000 and 2004 to 0.73 (Table 1), representing an increase in total jobs of 4,000. The working age population remained constant at 66,000 across the period.
In Lancaster district, the jobs density increased+0.04 between 2000 and 2004 to 0.73 (Table 1), reflecting an increase in total jobs of 6,000 and within the context of an increase in the working age population of 2,000 persons.
Burnley's jobs density increased by +0.03 between 2003 and 2004 to 0.77 (Table 1), reflecting an increase in total jobs of 1,000 on the year. The total jobs figure in Burnley has remained fairly constant across the period, fluctuating only marginally between 40,000 and 41,000. The working age population started and ended the 2000-2004 period at 53,000.
The jobs density in Blackburn with Darwen also increased by +0.03 between 2003 and 2004 to 0.85 (Table 1), representing an increase in total jobs of 4,000, and on top of an increase in the level of the working age population of 2,000 persons.
In Hyndburn, the jobs density increased+0.02 between 2001 and 2004 to 0.66 (Table 1), reflecting an increase in total jobs of 1,000. The total jobs figure in Hyndburn has remained fairly constant across the period, fluctuating only marginally between 31,000 and 33,000. There has been a marginal increase in the working age population of 1,000 persons in Hyndburn over the period.
Jobs Density is the total number of filled jobs in an area divided by the resident population of working age in that area.
The total number of jobs is a workplace-based measure of jobs and comprises employees, self-employment jobs, government-supported trainees and HM Forces. The number of jobs in an area is composed of jobs done by residents (of any age) and jobs done by workers (of any age) who commute into the area.
The working age population comprises residents of working age who work in the area plus workers of working age who commute out of the area to work in other areas and those who are unemployed or economically inactive of working age.
This page was compiled by Paul Ayre .
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