Economic information and analysis

Key statistics point to the strength and vitality of the Hambleton economy:

Unemployment

• Unemployment rates are typically half that of the national figure, running at approximately 1.6%.
• None of the District's Ward unemployment levels exceeds the national average.

Employment

• The numbers of people in employment in the District now stands at an all-time high of 42,000 (Source: Labour Force Survey (LFS) Annual Database 1999-00). This record figure is as a result of the following factors:
• (i) the numbers of working women has steadily increased over the last three decades;
  (ii) the population of Hambleton has, due to the migration into the District, shown significant growth since the district was created. As a result the workforce of the District has also grown;
  (iii) unemployment levels are currently low.
  
  Table 1 details employment by sector in the District in 1998.
  
  Table 1: Employment by Sector in Hambleton (Source: Annual Business Inquiry (ABI) 1998)
  
  

  Sector	Hambleton %	UK %
  Agricultural, forestry and fishing	6.8	1.3
  Manufacturing	14.2	17.5
  Electricity, gas and water, mining and quarrying	0.9	0.9
  Construction	5.9	4.6
  Hotels, restaurants	5.2	5.8
  Transport, storage, communication	4.7	5.8
  Financial services	1.3	4.2
  Other services	61	59.9
  Total	100	100

  
  
• There is a significantly higher proportion of the District's workforce employed in agriculture, forestry and fishing compared to national levels.
• Conversely there is a significantly lower proportion of the District's workforce employed in manufacturing, financial services and property services sectors.

Table 2 below details the size of businesses in the District and compares the profile to that of the County and the country as a whole.

Table 2A: Size of Businesses in Hambleton (Source: ABI 1999)

Size of businesses	1 to 4	5 to 10	11 to 24	25 to 49	50 to 99	100 to 199	200+
% of businesses	67.7	17	8.4	3.8	1.8	1.1	0.5
	Small 93.1%	Medium 6.7%	Large 0.5%

	Small <25 employees	Medium 25 - 199	Large 200+
% of businesses North Yorkshire	93%	6.3%	0.4%
% of businesses Great Britain	92.5%	6.8%	0.7%

• It can be seen from the table that the District has a large stock of small businesses but that medium and large firms are under-represented in the area compared with GB.
• Self-employment in Hambleton makes up 16.9% of all employment compared with 11.5% for Great Britain (Source: LFS Annual Database 1999-00).

Other Economic Indicators

• The 2000 New Earnings Survey indicates that the average weekly earnings of full-time employees in Hambleton were 371.90 compared with 356.10 for North Yorkshire and 410.60 for GB.
• Hambleton is ranked 315 out of 366 districts in the UK indicating very low levels of deprivation.
• Amongst the 13 deprivation indicators Hambleton has none which score higher than the national average.
• Nevertheless, there is what some analysts have called a "two tier" economy in North Yorkshire. One is characterised by relatively high levels of gross household income but more dependant upon the regional economy or transfer of incomes. The more local economy (which although successful at job creation) is characterised by low wage levels and relatively restricted employment opportunities.
• Data from the North Yorkshire Employer Survey (1998) shows that 61% of businesses in Hambleton experienced recruitment difficulties. This is the second highest figure in North Yorkshire (after Harrogate with 65%).
• In Hambleton the main skills/types of people that organisations had difficulty in recruiting were:

Professional - 9% of businesses
Associate professional and technical -11% of businesses
Drivers - 8% of businesses
Experienced people - 10% of businesses

Bookmark this page using:

Find out more about social bookmarking.