Working in Hertfordshire
The history and geography
Hertfordshire shares boundaries with Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex and Greater London. It covers an area of 1,634 sq km including major towns to small villages, industrial, commercial and rural areas and is affected by the proximity to London.
Employment in Hertfordshire has changed from a balance of manufacturing and services to mainly services.
Today, the Hertfordshire economy has strengths in life sciences, research and development, digital creativity and media, high tech engineering and financial and business services.
Population and working population
The population of Hertfordshire in 2008 was just over a million - 1,078,400. Those of working age estimated at 666,400. The recession of 2009 saw rapid increases in unemployment with Hertfordshire making the headlines on BBC News, however the situation has stabilized with unemployment in Hertfordshire in Dec 2009 at 5.3% compared to the East of England at 5.8% and the UK at 6.8%. The claimant count for Hertfordshire was 3% in January 2010.
Source: “Annual Population Survey” National Statistics © Crown copyright 2010, Reproduced under the terms of the Click-Use Licence.
Qualifications held by population
Hertfordshire has a highly qualified workforce with 50.3% of the population have NVQ level 3 (A level equivalent) or above. Look at the chart for further details
ONS annual population survey
Earnings and hours, do men earn more than women?
Earnings depend on age, experience, qualifications, occupation and the location. In Hertfordshire the median earnings are higher than in the east of England and the UK. The figures show that male full time workers earnings are higher than female full time workers.
ONS annual survey of hours and earnings - resident analysis
What did 2008/9 year 11 students in Hertfordshire do?
School 60.33%
College 29.47%
Training (not employed) 1.64%
Employed 3.22%
Voluntary and part time activities 0.44%
Unemployed 2.33%
Not available 0.48%
Others 2.19%
The future - Rising and falling sectors
It is likely that Hertfordshire will follow national trends, with new technology, and greener demands continuing to change the nature of the workplace, the service sector is likely to increase due to demands from an aging population and low tech manufacturing will continue to decline.
There are a number of major employment areas in Hertfordshire...
Gunnels Wood (Stevenage), Maylands (Hemel Hempstead), Elstree (Hertsmere), Essex Road (Hoddesdon) and Hatfield Business Park.
More information is contained in the pdf below.