Overview of the South West The South West Labour Market

2 KEY TRENDS – ECONOMIC ACTIVITY What are the key trends in economic activity?  High employment, a high number of jobs per working age resident and relatively self-contained  Over-representation of employment in certain sectors  Low levels of unemployment and long-term unemployment  Full-time earnings are below the national average

3 KEY TRENDS – EMPLOYMENT Working age employment rate, by region, 2003 & 2004 Source: ONS, NOMIS data service, 2006

4 KEY TRENDS – EMPLOYMENT Working age employment rate in the South West, 2003 & 2004 Source: ONS, NOMIS data service, 2006

5 KEY TRENDS – SECTORAL EMPLOYMENT Employment by industry, South West & England, 2004 Source: APS, ONS, NOMIS data service 2006.

6 KEY TRENDS – OCCUPATIONAL EMPLOYMENT Employment by occupation, South West & England, 2004 Source: APS, ONS, NOMIS data service 2006.

7 KEY TRENDS – UNEMPLOYMENT Trends in unemployment rates, South West & England Source: APS, ONS, NOMIS data service.

8 KEY TRENDS – OUTPUT & PRODUCTIVITY What are the key trends in output & productivity?  Low productivity and large divide between the north and the south/west of the region

9 KEY TRENDS – OUTPUT

10 KEY TRENDS – OUTPUT GVA at basic prices per head & indexed (UK=100), by region 2003

11 KEY TRENDS – PRODUCTIVITY GVA per hour worked, indexed (UK=100) by region, 1998 – East Midlands East of England London North East North West South East South West West Midlands Yorkshire & the Humber England

12 KEY TRENDS – ECONOMIC ACTIVITY What are the key trends in population & migration?  One of the smallest regions in population terms  Oldest age profile of all regions

13 BUSINESSES IN THE REGION What are the key trends in terms of business generation, enterprise & innovation?  High rate of business generation  Above average R&D expenditure but expenditure by HE is low

14 SMALL BUSINESSES IN THE REGION Enterprises in the South West, 2003

15 EMPLOYER VACANCIES What are the trends in employer vacancies?  High proportion of hard-to-fill vacancies  Lowest proportion of skills-related hard-to-fill vacancies and a low proportion of employers reporting skills gaps

16 TURNOVER & REDUNDANCIES Labour Turnover  High degree of labour market flexibility Redundancies  One of the lowest redundancy rates in the UK

17 SKILLS & LEARNING Participation  High staying on rates for young people  High adult participation in learning Qualifications  Highly qualified workforce

18 SKILLS FOR LIFE Skills for Life  Proportion of adults with literacy needs below the national average  Those with numeracy problems above the national average

19 SOUTH WEST LABOUR MARKET The Good News: A high degree of labour demand A well qualified workforce Efficient and equitable functioning between the demand and supply sides of the market. On these indicators, this region appears to be more “healthy” than any other region with the exception of the South East.

20 SOUTH WEST LABOUR MARKET The Bad News: A low-skills equilibrium Productivity is low, and lower than one would expect given the region’s highly qualified workforce Employers report few skills gaps within their workforces Markedly differing fortunes across the region. Low output per head, low earning levels and relatively high unemployment dominate the picture for the far west of the region