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Cambridgeshire Economy | Labour Market & Industries

Major Industry

Professional Services

GDP per capita Unemployment rate GDP growth per capita

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Cambridgeshire was worth an estimated £24 billion in 2021, according to figures published by the ONS. Cambridgeshire's GDP growth between 2020 and 2021 was 7.6% per year. Compare GDP by area.

The Professional, scientific and technical activities industry is the largest in Cambridgeshire based on the number of jobs, accounting for 14.3% of roles in the area.

ONS figures for 2021 suggest that there are 388,000 jobs in Cambridgeshire, which has a working-age (aged 16-65) population of 437,247. The 2021 job density in Cambridgeshire is 0.89, meaning there are 0.89 jobs per member of the Cambridgeshire working-age population.

Cambridgeshire had a median average salary for full-time employees of £37,395 in 2023. Cambridgeshire's unemployment rate is 3.7% as of 2023. Compare unemployment rate by area.

Compared to England's figures

The GDP value of Cambridgeshire represents 1.2% of the English economy. Cambridgeshire is the 9th county in England (of 21 total) when ordered by GDP, and the 6th county in England (of 21 total) when ordered by GDP per capita.
The 388,000 jobs in Cambridgeshire represents 1.3% of the 30,664,000 reported jobs in England. Cambridgeshire is the 9th county in England (of 21 total) when ordered by total jobs, and the 4th county in England (of 21 total) when ordered by job density.
Cambridgeshire's unemployment rate of 3.7% is 0.2% lower than the unemployment rate for England (3.9%).

Labour Market in Cambridgeshire

The 2022 labour force or working-age population in Cambridgeshire is 437,247 or 63.5% of the total population.

In 2022, 96.3% of the labour market was recorded as employed, above the 96.1% average rate for England. Of those employed, 9.7% are self-employed, and 90.3% are employees.

Qualifications

The Annual Population Survey for 2022 published by the ONS reports the percentage of the Cambridgeshire working-age (aged 16-64) population who have a degree or higher is 45.8%, which is above the 43.2% degree qualification rate for England.

Over 66% of the Cambridgeshire working-age population have at least 2 A-levels (or equivalent), and 6% have no qualifications.

Qualifications classifications

NVQ 4: Degree or equivalent.
NVQ 3: 2 or more A levels or equivalent
NVQ 2: 5 or more GCSEs at grades A-C or equivalent
NVQ 1: fewer than 5 GCSEs at grades A-C or equivalent
NVQ Other: includes foreign qualifications and some professional qualifications.

Salaries in Cambridgeshire

Main page: Cambridgeshire Salary

The average salary in Cambridgeshire as of 2023 is £37,395. Between 2022 and 2023, average salaries grew by £3,471. Compare average salaries by area.

Cambridgeshire's salary growth rate is 10.23% per year based on changes in average salary between 2022 and 2023, which is 7.13% higher than the average salary growth rate in Cambridgeshire over the past 10 years.

In Cambridgeshire, the highest average wages are found in South Cambridgeshire where the average salary is £40,352 and the lowest average wages are found in East Cambridgeshire where the average salary is £29,287. The difference in average salary between the two areas is £11,065 - the average person in South Cambridgeshire earns 37.8% more than the average person in East Cambridgeshire.

Salary Percentiles Average Salary Salary Growth

Jobs in Cambridgeshire

Business data published by the ONS for the year ending September 2023 show the most common job group in Cambridgeshire is Science, Research, Engineering And Technology Profs, accounting for 14% of all roles in the area. In England as a whole, the largest job group is Business, Media And Public Service Professionals.

Industries in Cambridgeshire

There was a 1% decrease in roles between 2021 and 2022. In England as a whole, there was a 2% increase.

Based on the total number of jobs, the largest industry in Cambridgeshire is Professional, scientific and technical activities. Other major industries include Wholesale And Retail Trade; Repair Of Motor Vehicles And Motorcycles, Education, Human Health And Social Work Activities, which represents over 10% of roles.

Financial & Insurance companies make up 1% of the Cambridgeshire economy, and 3% of the roles across England.

6% of the total jobs in Cambridgeshire are in Information and Communication. In England as a whole they make up 5% of total jobs.

Industry growth in Cambridgeshire

The fastest-growing industry in Cambridgeshire is Electricity, Gas, Steam And Air Conditioning Supply, with jobs in the sector increasing 75% between 2021 and 2022 from 200 to 350. In England more broadly the fastest-growing industry is Water Supply; Sewerage, Waste Management And Remediation Activities.

The industry with the biggest decline in Cambridgeshire between 2021 and 2022 was Administrative and support service activities, which saw an 18% decrease in roles, going from 28,000 to 23,000. In England more broadly the industry with the biggest year on year decline was Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply, with roles decreasing by 17%.

In Cambridgeshire, the number of roles in the Information and communication sector has fallen by 9% over the past year, below the 5% annual increase seen in England.

Growth rates can be volatile for industries with a small sample size.

Crime rate (per 100,000 people)

6,695

Number of Businesses in Cambridgeshire

2023 UK Business Count data published by the ONS show there are 130 large businesses in Cambridgeshire, making up 0.5% of total businesses - in England, 0.4% of businesses are large. A large business is defined as having over 250 employees.

There are 535 medium-sized businesses based in Cambridgeshire, making up 1.9% of total businesses - in England, 1.6% of businesses are medium-sized. A medium-sized business is defined as having between 50 and 249 employees.

There are 2,655 small businesses based in Cambridgeshire, making up 9.3% of total businesses - in England, 8.8% of businesses are small. A small business is defined as having between 10 and 49 employees.

Reasons for unemployment in Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire's unemployment rate is 3.7% , that's 0% lower than the average unemployment rate for England as a whole. Unemployment rates are the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the working-age population.

The main group within the unemployment population is Student, representing 33.9% of the unemployed population.

Secondary classifications include groups: looking after family, long-term sick, retired, other, all of which represent over 10% of the unemployed population.

In England as a whole, students are the main group within the unemployed population, accounting for 27.3% of the unemployed population.

Student 33.9%
Looking After Family 17.2%
Long-term Sick 22.0%
Retired 12.1%
Other 13.2%