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This section looks at data relating to the labour market. Click on the links on the left to access statistics on activity rates; numbers of businesses and numbers of employees (Annual Business Inquiry); data on earnings and socio-economic classifications.
Bournemouth has a resident population of 163,200 of which 101,400 (62.1%) are of working age. This compares with 62% for Great Britain as a whole. The Annual Population Survey estimates that Bournemouth has an economically active population of around 72,500, of these approximately 63,400 are employees and 8,500 are self-employed. The employment rate is around 74%; allowing for sampling error this figure is comparable with 75% in England and Wales. There are around 22,000 (22.7%) people of working age in Bournemouth who are economically inactive of which around 4,700 would like a job.
The claimant rate in September 2007was 1.5% compared with 0.8% in Dorset and 1.0% in Poole however the claimant rate is lower than several other authorities that the audit commission considers similar such as Portsmouth, Southampton and Brighton and Hove.
Earnings for Bournemouth residents are lower than the national average. The gross weekly pay of a full-time worker in Bournemouth is £371 compared with £433.10 in Great Britain. This may in part be due to the area’s significant number of service based jobs in the leisure and tourism industry, which tend, to be lower paid. The gross weekly pay of those employed in Bournemouth is lower than for Bournemouth residents. A full-time worker receives £348.50 a week. The data reveals that some Bournemouth residents are working elsewhere to achieve higher salaries.
Job density data suggests there are fewer jobs than working-age population. In 2004 the figure was 0.9 in Bournemouth, this is better than the GB figure of 0.8. High job density can be indicative of areas where there is a large amount of inward commuting. However, although areas of high job densities seem to offer potential job opportunities for residents of the area, it could be that the skills of the local residents do not match the type of jobs available. In the case of Bournemouth it is also worth noting that because the job density is a ratio of total jobs to working-age population the actual numbers of people available for work may be lower due to the university population.
Bournemouth is a service-based local economy with 91.4% of jobs in the service sector. Just 3.1% of jobs are in manufacturing compared with nearly 12% in Great Britain as a whole. Bournemouth’s construction sector makes up 5.2% of employee jobs compared with 4.5% in Great Britain. Tourism related employment comprises 11.7% of employee jobs compared with 8.2% in Great Britain generally.
Most jobs notified to jobcentres in Bournemouth are in the banking, finance and insurance sector (57%), followed by 21% in distribution, hotels and restaurants. It is estimated that only around a third of all vacancies are advertised through jobcentres so the data helps provides an indication of the sectors currently actively recruiting staff.
A Labour Market Summary on Bournemouth using the Local Labour Force Survey can be viewed on the National Statistics site by clicking here.
Further information on the labour market can be found on the National Statistics site.
A Labour Market Profile for Bournemouth or for individual wards can be found on the NOMIS site.
| Contact details | |
|---|---|
| Research & Information | |
| Bournemouth Borough Council | |
| Trading Standards | |
| Town Hall Annexe, St Stephens Road Bournemouth Dorset BH2 6EA DX 7615 Bournemouth | |
| 01202 454684 or 01202 454656 | |
| Email: statistics | |