Wiltshire (Local Profiles 2012)

Earnings and Economy

Gross Annual Pay

• Median gross full-time annual pay for Wiltshire residents is £26,816, an increase of 5.3% on 2010. This is the third highest value for any county or unitary authority in the South West, and above the median for both the South West (£24,922) and England (£26,615).
• The equivalent pay figure for those working in Wiltshire is only £24,965 suggesting that higher earners commute out of the county to work.
• Median gross full-time annual pay for Wiltshire resident men is 35% higher than women. In the South West men’s pay is 29% higher and in England 25% higher.
  

Local Enterprise Zones (LEPs)

• Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) are locally-owned partnerships between local authorities and businesses and play a central role in determining local economic priorities and undertaking activities to drive economic growth and the creation of local jobs.
• Wiltshire is in a LEP with Swindon Unitary Authority. The table below summaries some key facts across local authorities within this LEP:
  

Productivity (GVA)

• In 2009, Wiltshire’s Gross Value Added (GVA) per head was £17,492. The value for the South West was £18,184 and England £20,498.
• Between 2008 and 2009 there was a decrease in Wiltshire’s GVA per head, of -3.4% (South West -2.3%, England -2.2%). This was the 2nd biggest decrease for the 12 NUTS3 areas in the South West.
• Over the last 10 years Wiltshire’s GVA per head has increased by 43.7% (South West 43.2%, England 44.3%).
  

Enterprise Survival Rate

• At the end of 2010 there were 25,685 VAT/PAYE registered businesses in the Swindon and Wiltshire LEP area, of which 19,665 were in Wiltshire.
• During 2010, there was a decrease in the number of VAT registered businesses in Wiltshire, of -1.3% (South West -0.2%, England -1.9%).
• The 3-year survival rate of enterprises that started in 2007 in Wiltshire is 68.3% (South West: 69.0%, England: 66.2%). The survival rate has increased from 68.4% in 2006.
• Wiltshire had 1,775 new businesses in 2010, a rise of 3.5% from 2009 (South West -0.6%, England  0.7%).
  

Employment

Unemployment and Claimant Rate

• Wiltshire’s working age employment rate is higher than the rates for both the South West and England but has fallen since the previous reporting period.

• The latest unemployment rate for Wiltshire is 3.5% of the economically active 16+ population (South West 6.0%, England: 7.6%).
• Wiltshire’s claimant count rate has increased in the last year, but remains lower than both the South West and England rate.
  

Employment by Sector

• The largest proportion of jobs in Wiltshire is in public administration, defence, education and health (29.3%), followed by manufacturing, wholesale and retail (24.7%).

Education and Skills

School Qualifications

• Results for 2010/11 show 60.3% of pupils in the Wiltshire Local Education Authority (LEA) achieved 5+ GCSEs or equivalent at Grade A*-C including English & Maths by the end of Key Stage 4. This was higher than the rate for both the South West (57.5%) and England (58.3%).
• Wiltshire LEA’s latest Key Stage 2 pass rates for English and Maths were higher than the England average and the same as the South West average.
  

School Absenteeism

• The percentage of half days missed due to unauthorised absence by pupils in Wiltshire primary schools is lower than the South West and England averages.
• At secondary school level, unauthorised absence rates are lower than England’s but higher than the South West rate.

DfE Pupil Absence in Schools in England 2009/10

Workforce Qualifications

• The proportion of the Wiltshire workforce with no qualifications (7.7%) is lower than both the South West (11.1%) and England (8.4%).
• The proportion of Wiltshire’s workforce with NVQ 4 (degree & equiv.) qualifications & above (35.0%) is higher than both the South West (31.5%) and England (31.1%).