Characteristic settlements with strong communities and traditions
# Employment
There are high levels of economic activity across the Peak District. A higher employment rate as well as higher levels of self-employment is positive for the area.
# Economic activity and self-employment
Out of an economically active resident population of 19,805 within the Peak District, 45.7% are employed in full-time positions, 9,059 in total. This is the exact same proportion as the average for English national parks, but considerably lower than England on average (55.2%), reflecting the ageing population in rural areas.
A further 26.9% of Peak District residents are self-employed, a similar rate to English national parks (27.3%), but almost double the national levels of self-employment (14%).
Levels of Economic Activity, Census 2011 PDNP, National Parks England, England
Two thirds of all self-employment (67.3%) is carried out by males, who also occupy 60.9% of full-time positions, similar to trends across other national parks and England. The largest employment differences by gender are apparent in part-time positions across the Peak District, with 81.8% occupied by females, which is slightly higher but broadly consistent with English national parks (79.6%) and national averages (78%) [1].
# Working age population is predicted to decrease in the Peak District
Population projections produced for the Peak District National Park indicate that the greatest population increase between 2016 and 2019 is projected to be in the 75+ age category. An ageing and declining population will have a big impact on the future size and structure of the labour force, which is projected to decline [1:1].
# Employment rate is above national averages
The employment rate across the Peak District was 79% during 2018-19. This is slightly higher than the local average for the Derbyshire Dales (78.1%), and notably higher than regional and national averages across both the East Midlands (76%) and England (75.9%).
# Majority of residents’ work in wholesale and retail trade
Peak District residents are most likely to work in wholesale and retail (13%), education (12%), human health and social work (11%), manufacturing (10%), or accommodation and food services (9%), which together account for more than half of all resident employment. The industries least well represented amongst residents are electricity, gas, steam and air (0.2%), water supply, sewerage and waste management (0.6%), and mining and quarrying (1%).
Resident Industrial Structure Percentage Share Census 2011 PDNP
By industry, manufacturing (74.4%), construction (86.7%), and agriculture, forestry & fishing (72.5%) are all predominantly populated by males, although the wholesale & retail industry is more evenly populated between male (51.4%), and female (48.6%). Again, apart from wholesale & retail, the human health & social work (77.8%), education (71.8%) and accommodation & food service industries (59.9%) tend to be more populated by females [2].
# Peak District has a high proportion of residents in professional occupations
Trends in occupational structure within the Peak District are broadly comparable with average trends for English national parks overall. However, a notably higher proportion of Peak District residents are employed in professional occupations (21.2%), including both males and females, than the English national parks average (17.4%), which is closer to England overall (17.5%) [2:1].
Occupation of Residents Census 2011 PDNP and National Parks England
# Socio-economic classification shows a large proportion of residents in skilled and managerial positions
This accounts for the third highest share of all socio-economic positions within the Peak District National Park (15%), a significantly higher share than both English national parks (11%), and England overall (10%). Outward commuting to nearby urban areas will account for this increase.
The Peak District also has a lower share of the never worked and long-term unemployed (1.9%), than the average for other English national parks (2.5%) and nationally (5.6%).
NS-SeC Census 2011
| All categories: NS-SeC | Peak District |
|---|---|
| 1. Higher managerial, administrative and professional occupations | 15% |
| 1.1 Large employers and higher managerial and administrative occupations | 4% |
| 1.2 Higher professional occupations | 12% |
| 2. Lower managerial, administrative and professional occupations | 24% |
| 3. Intermediate occupations | 10% |
| 4. Small employers and own account workers | 18% |
| 5. Lower supervisory and technical occupations | 6% |
| 6. Semi-routine occupations | 11% |
| 7. Routine occupations | 8% |
| 8. Never worked and long-term unemployed | 2% |
| L14.1 Never worked | 1% |
| L14.2 Long-term unemployed | 1% |
| Not classified | 5% |
| L15 Full-time students | 5% |
# Residence Hours and Earnings vs Workplace Hours and Earnings
Workplace-based average earnings can differ from residence-based average earnings, as people do not necessarily work in the same settlement as they live. Nationally, average residence-based earnings are lower than workplace earnings in major urban areas, whilst average residence-based earnings in rural areas are higher than workplace earnings. This is because people living in rural areas may work in major urban areas in higher paid jobs [3].
Across the wider Peak District in 2019, residence-based average annual earnings were £29,956, 9.3% higher than the workplace-based average of £27,397. Between 2014 and 2019, average workplace-based earnings increased by 10.9%, a higher rate of growth than average residence-based earnings, which increased by 8.3% over the same period [3:1].
There was no significant difference in the average weekly hours worked: 38.1 hours according to the residence-based analysis and 38.9 hours recorded by the workplace-based analysis across the wider Peak District in 2019 [3:2].
# Home working
Home workers are defined as individuals who usually spend at least half of their work time at home. Across England in 2018, 3.9 million out of 27.1 million people in work were home workers, making up 14% of the total workforce. Rural areas such as the Peak District National Park have the highest rates of home working, 21.5%, compared with just 13% in urban areas.
Home workers are on average more likely to earn a higher hourly wage in higher skilled roles. The largest industry contributor to home workers in rural areas is professional, scientific and technical services with 14.8% of the total, followed by construction (13.6%), agriculture, forestry and fishing (10.8%) and education, health and social work (10.6%).
What are the gaps in our research and data?
- Broadband: Acquiring data for the National Park Management Plan to help understand the sustainability of communities and local business.