Industry of Employment and Travel to Work: Rural-Urban Analysis

• Economic Factsheet - Industry of Employment and Travel to Work: Rural-Urban Analysis
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This briefing looks in detail at the theme of qualifications and occupation in Somerset using the 2011 Census data to give a snapshot. Each table is broken down into urban and rural figures, based upon the ONS classification of output areas.

• Somerset’s largest industry in employment terms is wholesale and retail, with 17.6% employed in this sector. Human health and social work is the second largest sector in the County, employing 13% of the workforce.
• Urban and rural areas are characterised by differing sector profiles. Urban areas have a stronger presence of the following sectors: manufacturing, wholesale and retail, transport and storage, accommodation and food services, admin and support services and human health and social work. Across the profile of rural areas, agriculture is an important sector as would be expected, employing 9.2% of the workforce in sparse rural areas. ICT and profession, scientific and technical activities also show a strong presence in rural areas, perhaps supported by increasing levels of remote working and broadband.
• The 3 largest employment sectors in Somerset for males are wholesale and retail (17.2%), manufacturing (16%) and construction (14.1%).
• For women, the 3 largest employment sectors in Somerset are human health and social work (22.5%), wholesale and retail (18%) and education (15.3%).

• Almost half of people in employment in urban areas (49.3%) travel less than 5km to work. As would be expected, people in rural areas generally travel further to work.
• Homeworking is more prevalent in rural areas, with 28.7% of people in rural and isolated areas working mainly at or from home.