Employment and commuting

1: Overview of employment trends

This section summarises the most important changes in employment patterns in recent years.

It is important to keep in mind the distinction between Employment in Calderdale and Residents’ Employment .

Employment in Calderdale refers to the jobs and employment located within Calderdale (many of which may be undertaken by people not resident in Calderdale).

Residents’ Employment concerns the characteristics of employment among people who live in Calderdale (many of whom may work elsewhere).

Detailed data on Employment and Employment Trends are provided in Appendix A: Employment information .

Jobs and sectoral changes

there has been a significant growth in employment since the early 1990s in both Residents’ Employment and Employment in Calderdale
the share of Manufacturing in total employment has continued to fall, and is now under one quarter. It remains well above the national average. The decline has affected employment in Calderdale more strongly than the employment pattern of Calderdale residents
the Banking and Finance sector has grown correspondingly and now accounts for about the same employment as Manufacturing, between 20% and 25%. Residents’ Employment in this sector is lower than Employment in Calderdale, reflecting the influence of major finance sector businesses within the District
the two other broad industrial sectors which account for a major share of employment are Distribution, Wholesale, Retail, Hotels & Restaurants, and Public Administration, Health, Education & Social Care. For both Residents’ Employment and Employment in Calderdale, both sectors employ about 20% of the total; the former has grown by several percent over the last decade or so and the latter has changed little.

Full-time and part-time working, gender differences

among Calderdale Residents, there has been a continued gradual shift from full-time to part-time working, this growth faster amongst men than women. Excluding students in employment, 24% of Calderdale residents who are employed work part-time
including students, Employment in Calderdale is now about 30% part-time, close to the national average
although women now account for almost half of total employment, women in full-time employment now account for a lower proportion of the total than they did 8-12 years ago
within Calderdale, employment in the Manufacturing sector remains male dominated, as does Construction; in Public Administration, Health, Education & Social Care, women account for about three quarters of the workforce, and in Banking & Finance, more than 60%. This pattern broadly reflects the national position
a similar pattern exists with respect to full-time and part-time working. In Manufacturing and Construction, the Calderdale workforce is over 90% full-time, whilst for services as a whole, this falls to 62% (55% in Public Administration, Health, etc.) This closely reflects the national picture.

Hours of work, incomes and qualifications

55% of employees in Calderdale work 38 hours or more per week, and there has been a rise in the proportion working between 16 and 30 hours per week
average (mean and median) hourly pay and gross weekly pay rates for jobs in Calderdale are consistently above regional averages but below national ones
average (mean) household income in Calderdale was £ 29,800 in 2006, compared to the UK average of £ 32,300. The median figure for Calderdale was approximately £ 25,000, compared to the UK figure of £ 27,100
Calderdale residents aged 16-74 have qualification levels (Degree, 2+ A Levels, 5+ GCSEs at A-C grade) below the national average. Amongst the economically active, a lower percentage than the national average has NVQ4 or above.

This section of the report, in full, is available to download:

Part 1: Overview of Employment Trends [PDF file 179KB]