west dorset a profile of the economy and labour ... - Dorsetforyou.com

WEST DORSET
A PROFILE OF THE ECONOMY AND LABOUR
MARKET
Rosie Martin, Nikki Taylor and Anne Gray
Research and Information Group
Dorset County Council
(01305) 224575
November 2008
Front cover: South Street, Dorchester

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
Economic growth
Gross Value Added (GVA) measures the contribution to the economy of each
individual producer, industry or sector in the UK by estimating the value of its outputs
(goods and services), less purchases and less net spending taxes.
Crude local estimates of GVA can be derived from this NUTS3 level data by
allocating it in proportion to the distribution of full time equivalent employee numbers,
weighted for high productivity, based on Annual Business Inquiry survey data.
These local estimates indicate that GVA in West Dorset is around £1,310 million.
This is just over one-quarter of DCC Dorset’s total GVA.
GVA (Gross Value Added 1 ) per resident head is low in DCC Dorset at 71 per cent of
the England average 2 and 78 per cent of the regional level. Estimated GVA per
resident head in West Dorset falls above the DCC Dorset average in all years.
Headline GVA: £ per head of resident population - local estimates
£ 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Dorset sub-region: 10,600 11,300 11,700 12,300 12,700 13,500 14,300 14,900
Bournemouth 12,100 13,000 13,800 14,400 14,800 15,700 16,500 16,800
Poole 12,100 13,000 13,500 14,100 14,900 15,800 17,000 18,000
DCC Dorset 9,383 9,909 10,268 10,725 11,092 11,720 12,504 13,059
Christchurch 10,800 11,400 12,000 11,800 12,200 13,500 14,500 15,200
East Dorset 8,800 9,800 9,700 10,700 10,700 11,400 12,300 13,000
North Dorset 8,300 9,200 9,900 10,300 11,700 11,400 12,000 11,800
Purbeck 9,500 10,300 10,800 10,500 10,200 13,200 14,300 15,600
West Dorset 11,000 11,700 11,100 12,700 13,000 12,600 13,300 13,700
Weymouth and Portland 7,700 7,000 8,600 7,700 8,200 9,000 9,500 10,100
Headline GVA: £ per head of resident population – ONS data
£ 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Bournemouth & Poole 12,095 13,022 13,642 14,285 14,877 15,767 16,737 17,378
DCC Dorset 9,383 9,909 10,268 10,725 11,092 11,720 12,504 13,059
UK 13,144 13,734 14,378 15,040 15,800 16,682 17,577 18,205
South East 13,769 14,532 15,218 16,088 16,901 17,844 18,804 19,434
South West 11,999 12,525 12,999 13,709 14,439 15,306 16,175 16,688
England 13,222 13,817 14,350 15,060 15,853 16,759 17,672 18,267
Source: Office for National Statistics with DCC Dorset estimates (Dorset County Council)
Dorset’s level of economic growth is generally at a rate lower than that of the South
West region as a whole. Growth for the next decade (2006-2016) in the South West
region is projected to continue at around three per cent per annum, the same as in
the previous ten years 3 . Projections of GVA are not available at local authority level,
but growth in Dorset is most likely to take place in the south and east.
1 GVA measures the contribution of each individual producer, or sector, to the economy by estimating
the value of its outputs (goods and services – as above), less purchases and less net spending taxes. It
relates to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the following way: GVA plus taxes on products less
subsidies on products equals GDP.
2 ONS Headline GVA per resident head at current basic prices
3 Cambridge Econometrics – Local Economy Forecasting Model 2005 (SWRA Scenario 1)

Business structure
West Dorset has approximately 4,650 firms, excluding the self-employed 4 . 4,430
firms were registered for VAT in 2006 5 .
86 per cent of firms are micro-firms (employing fewer than ten employees) and
these account for 29 per cent of total employment in the district. This is much in line
with the average for DCC Dorset, (87 per cent and 30 per cent respectively).
Less than one per cent of firms employ 200 or more employees, much the same as
the DCC Dorset average of 0.4 per cent.
Although the majority of firms are ‘small’, larger firms employ a significant proportion
of the workforce. Just three per cent of West Dorset’s firms, (those with 50 or more
employees), account for 44 per cent of employees in employment in the district.
West Dorset’s rate of business formation 6 is below that of DCC Dorset, 7.1 per
cent representing 310 firms newly registering for VAT in 2006 7 . At 7.9 per cent,
business formation in DCC Dorset is below the regional and national averages, (8.8
per cent and 9.7 per cent respectively).
However, in terms of VAT registrations per thousand of the population of working
age, DCC Dorset ranks above the national and regional averages and the figure for
West Dorset is slightly above the local average at 6.0 registrations per 1,000.
VAT registrations 2006 per 1,000 w orking age population
8.0
7.0
6.0
5.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
0.0
England
average
England
South West
Bournemouth
DCC Dorset
Poole
Dorset subregion
Christchurch
East Dorset
North Dorset
Purbeck
West Dorset
Weymouth &
Portland
Sources: Mid 2006 population estimates and VAT registration data 2006, ONS
4 Annual Business Inquiry 2006, ONS
5 ONS/DTI VAT registrations 2006
6 number of businesses registered for VAT as % of stocks at the beginning of the year
7 ONS/DTI VAT registrations

LABOUR MARKET
Structure
The Census of Population 2001 indicated that West Dorset had around 41,200
economically active people aged 16-74 years. With 36.2 per cent of 16-74 year
olds economically inactive, West Dorset has a slightly below average level of
economic activity.
72.8 per cent of the economically active were in employment, below the DCC Dorset
average of 76.1 per cent. Self-employment was above the DCC Dorset average.
Of the economically inactive in West Dorset, 57 per cent were retired, just above the
DCC Dorset average. There was also a higher proportion of economically inactive
students.
Labour market structure in 2001: West Dorset DCC Dorset
All people aged 16 - 74 64,658 275,193
Economically active 41,228 63.8% 178,519 64.9%
Economically inactive 23,430 36.2% 96,674 35.1%
Economically active 16-74:
Employees: Part-time 8 8,726 21.2% 37,236 20.9%
Employees: Full-time 21,271 51.6% 98,696 55.3%
Self - employed 8,875 21.5% 31,446 17.6%
Unemployed 1,229 3.0% 5,596 3.1%
Full-time student 1,127 2.7% 5,545 3.1%
Economically inactive 16-74:
Retired 13,352 57.0% 54,255 56.1%
Student 2,188 9.3% 7,625 7.9%
Looking after home/family 3,862 16.5% 16,908 17.5%
Permanently sick/disabled 2,554 10.9% 11,026 11.4%
Other 1,474 6.3% 6,860 7.1%
Source: Census of Population 2001, ONS Copyright Reserved
The following extract from the Annual Population Survey suggests that economic
activity has increased with around 83 per cent of West Dorset’s working age
population economically active, although the age banding is different to that used in
the Census. This is much the same as in DCC Dorset generally, taking the potential
range into account. The estimate for DCC Dorset is 81.8 per cent plus or minus 2.6
giving a range of 79.2 to 84.4 per cent. There is only one chance in twenty that the
true value will lie outside this range. In West Dorset, the confidence level is 5.1
giving a range of 77.8 to 88.0 per cent – overlapping the DCC Dorset range.
8 For the Census; part-time employment is defined as working 30 hours or less a week. Full-time is
defined as working 31 or more hours a week.

Labour Market Structure West Dorset DCC Dorset
number denominator percent confidence number denominator percent confidence
All:
Economic activity rate - working age 42,700 51,500 82.9 5.1 179,100 218,800 81.8 2.6
Employment rate - working age 41,500 51,500 80.5 5.4 172,500 218,800 78.9 2.7
% of working age who are employees 34,100 51,500 66.3 6.4 145,600 218,800 66.6 3.2
% of working age who are self employed 7,100 51,500 13.8 4.7 25,800 218,800 11.8 2.2
Unemployment rate - working age 1,200 42,700 2.9 * 6,500 179,100 3.7 1.4
% who are economically inactive - working age 8,800 51,500 17.1 5.1 39,700 218,800 18.2 2.6
Males:
Economic activity rate males - working age 23,600 27,100 87.0 6.3 96,700 114,800 84.3 3.4
Employment rate males - working age 22,800 27,100 84.3 6.8 92,800 114,800 80.9 3.6
% of working age males who are employees 16,700 27,100 61.8 9.0 71,900 114,800 62.6 4.5
% of working age males who are self employed 5,900 27,100 21.6 7.7 20,200 114,800 17.6 3.5
Unemployment rate males - working age 700 23,600 3.1 * 3,900 96,700 4.0 2.0
% of males who are economically inactive - working age 3,500 27,100 13.0 6.3 18,100 114,800 15.7 3.4
Females:
Economic activity rate females - working age 19,100 24,400 78.4 8.2 82,300 104,000 79.2 4.0
Employment rate females - working age 18,600 24,400 76.3 8.4 79,700 104,000 76.6 4.1
% of working age females who are employees 17,400 24,400 71.2 9.0 73,700 104,000 70.9 4.4
% of working age females who are self employed 1,200 24,400 5.1 * 5,600 104,000 5.4 2.2
Unemployment rate females - working age ! 19,100 ! ! 2,600 82,300 3.2 1.9
% of females who are economically inactive - working age 5,300 24,400 21.6 8.2 21,700 104,000 20.8 4.0
Source: Annual Population Survey, January-December 2007, ONS Copyright Reserved
! Estimate and confidence interval not available since the group sample size is zero or disclosive (0-2).
* Estimate and confidence interval unreliable since the group sample size is small (3-9).
WARNING: Data prior to the period Oct 06 - Sep 07 has not been reweighted in line with the latest ONS estimates. This will be done as soon as possible For further details go
to http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/articles/366.aspx.
For unemployment rates and levels for districts and unitary authorities ONS recommend the use of their model-based estimates which provide a more precise measure. For
further details go to http://www.statistics.gov.uk/STATBASE/Product.aspvlnk=13574.

Working age population
Mid year population estimates for 2007 give a working age population 9 of
approximately 52,000. This makes up a marginally below average percentage of
West Dorset’s total population of 97,100, 54% aged 16-59/64 years as against 55%
in DCC Dorset as a whole.
The proportion over retirement age is just above average in West Dorset: 29%
compared with 28% in DCC Dorset as a whole.
Between 1997 and 2007, the retirement age population in West Dorset grew by 16
per cent, marginally above the DCC Dorset average of 15 per cent over the decade.
2007 age profile
Below w orking age
Working age
Above w orking age
West Dorset
17.2%
53.6%
29.2%
DCC Dorset
17.1%
54.9%
28.0%
South West
17.8%
60.1%
22.1%
Great Britain
18.8%
62.2%
19.0%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
per cent of all
Source: ONS mid-year population estimates, 2007
Commuting
The Census of Population shows that both in 1991 and in 2001 West Dorset had a
net gain of commuters: there were fewer people commuting out of the District than
in. Over the decade, the position remained unchanged. In 1991 10 , West Dorset
showed a net gain of around 2,500 commuters and this was the same in 2001.
However, the volume of commuting both in and out of the District increased. In the
DCC Dorset area, only Christchurch and West Dorset are net importers of
commuters.
In 2001, West Dorset had 13,700 in-commuters. More than half of these
commuters came from Weymouth & Portland. A further 20 per cent came from
Somerset.
11,200 West Dorset residents commuted out of the District for work, again largely
to Somerset and to Weymouth & Portland.
9 Women aged 16-59 and men aged 16-64
10 There are some problems in comparing the 1991 and 2001 commuting data, mainly because in 1991
these data were only collected from a 10 per cent sample of the population. Exact figures should not be
compared but an idea of trends can be gained.

28,770 people both lived and worked in West Dorset, 72% of resident workers
compared with 73% in DCC Dorset as a whole.
Commuting flows 2001: West Dorset
7069
Number of commuters
3863
2703
2230
Out commuting
In commuting
1327
1084 989
589
803 771 775
417
589 561
269 337
259 176
So merset
Weymouth
and Portland
P urbeck
Rest o f DCC Rest o f So uth
West
Elsewhere So uth East P o o le B o urnemouth
Source: Census of Population, 1991 and 2001
Employment by sector
The West Dorset economy is centered on Public services and Distribution, hotels
& restaurants, with these two sectors alone accounting for over 60 per cent of
employment 11 . West Dorset has an above average proportion of employment in
public services which accounts for more than one-third (36%) of all employees in
employment.
Main Employment Sectors:
Employees % of Total Employment
West Dorset DCC
Total Employment 42,200
Public administration, education & health 15,100 35.8% 28.5%
Distribution, hotels and restaurants 10,700 25.4% 26.6%
Banking, finance and insurance, etc 5,200 12.3% 15.7%
Manufacturing 4,500 10.6% 12.3%
Construction 2,200 5.1% 5.3%
Other services 2,100 4.9% 4.6%
Agriculture and fishing 1,200
2.9% 2.3%
Transport and communications 1,200
2.8% 4.1%
Energy and water C C 0.5%
C: confidential
There are approximately 42,200 employees in West Dorset, almost 30 per cent of all
employees in DCC Dorset 12 . 61 per cent of these are in full-time employment and 45
per cent of all employees are male. These proportions are lower than the DCC
Dorset averages of 62 per cent and 50 per cent respectively, reflecting the high
proportion working in the public sector.
11 Employment data from Annual Business Inquiry 2006 (ONS)
12 Excludes Bournemouth and Poole

Four-fifths of all employees work in the service sector, (81 per cent) 13 , much in line
with the DCC Dorset average of 80 per cent.
Those employed directly in tourism-related businesses account for seven per cent of
employment, above the average for DCC Dorset (five per cent).
Knowledge-based industries, (professional and technical), account for 15 per cent of
employment, just below the average for DCC Dorset (17 per cent).
Occupational profile
In West Dorset, Annual Population Survey 14 data indicates that two in five employed
residents work in managerial, professional or associate professional/ technical
occupations: about the same as the average for Dorset as a whole.
West Dorset DCC Dorset
All people aged in employment as/in: 45,400 188,600
Managers and senior officials 12.6% 19.8%
Professional occupations 14.9% 11.1%
Associate professional and technical occupations 13.6% 12.6%
Administrative and secretarial occupations 11.2% 11.4%
Skilled trades occupations 14.7% 12.9%
Personal service occupations 6.7% 10.7%
Sales and customer service occupations 4.9% 5.3%
Process; plant and machine operatives 4.7% 4.8%
Elementary occupations 16.2% 11.2%
Source: Annual Population Survey Jan-Dec 2007, ONS
Self-employment
The Census of Population 2001 indicated that West Dorset had 8,863 self-employed
residents aged 16-74 years: 21.5 per cent of the population of this age. More recent
data also show that West Dorset has an estimated 9,100 self-employed residents
of working age 15 . This is 20 per cent of employees aged 16+, noticeably above the
average for Dorset 16 . More than three-quarters of the self-employed are male, much
in line with the average for DCC Dorset as a whole.
Total employment
Estimates of total employment are available from 2000 to 2005. This is a workplace
based measure of jobs which comprises:
• Employees in employment (from the Annual Business Inquiry);
• Self-employed jobs (from the Local Area Labour Force Survey/Annual
Population Survey);
• People in government-supported training (from DfES and DWP); and
• HM Forces (from MoD).
13 This excludes Agriculture & fishing; Energy & water; Manufacturing; Construction
14 The Annual Population Survey is a sample survey and subject to sample error.
15 Annual Population Survey, (ONS), January-December 2007. Note confidence interval of ±5.7%.
16 The APS gives a range within which the true value may fall. With a DCC Dorset range of between
13.9% and 19.3% of those aged 16+ being self-employed, all the Dorset local authorities overlap this
range.

In 2005, West Dorset had total employment of 50,000. Over the period 2000 to
2005, total employment rose by 0.8 per cent per annum, although this was not a
steady incline. DCC Dorset as a whole saw marginal growth of 0.3% per annum over
the five years.
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
% change
per annum
2000-2005
Great Britain 28,973,000 29,283,000 29,477,000 29,747,000 30,042,000 30,539,000 1.1%
South West 2,464,000 2,543,000 2,571,000 2,597,000 2,616,000 2,643,000 1.4%
Dorset sub-region 333,000 333,000 334,000 340,000 334,000 350,000 1.0%
Bournemouth 83,000 85,000 87,000 89,000 87,000 93,000 2.3%
Poole 73,000 73,000 69,000 73,000 75,000 78,000 1.3%
DCC Dorset 176,000 175,000 178,000 178,000 172,000 179,000 0.3%
Christchurch 22,000 20,000 21,000 25,000 20,000 21,000 -0.9%
East Dorset 33,000 33,000 31,000 34,000 34,000 37,000 2.3%
North Dorset 30,000 30,000 31,000 30,000 29,000 31,000 0.7%
Purbeck 19,000 21,000 19,000 22,000 21,000 19,000 0.0%
West Dorset 48,000 49,000 51,000 47,000 47,000 50,000 0.8%
Weymouth &
Portland
24,000 21,000 23,000 21,000 21,000 21,000 -2.6%
Source: ONS Crown Copyright Reserved
Jobs density
Jobs density figures show the number of jobs there are for each working age resident
in an area. Those areas with lower densities tend to be areas where people live
rather than work. Areas with jobs density of more than one are normally importers of
labour. A jobs density lower than one indicates fewer jobs than working age
residents and a propensity to travel out of the area to work.
The numbers of jobs comprises:
• employees;
• agricultural employees;
• self-employed jobs;
• Government supported trainees; and
• HM Forces.
In 2005, there were 0.84 jobs per person of working age in Great Britain, up
marginally from 2001. In DCC Dorset, there were 0.81 jobs per person of working
age, up from 0.78 in the previous year.
Within DCC Dorset, West Dorset had the highest jobs density, (9 th in the South
West), and Weymouth & Portland had the lowest level in the South West, (45 th out of
45).
Within the South West region, Exeter, Isles of Scilly, Swindon, Taunton Deane,
Carrick and Gloucester all had jobs densities of more than one.

Jobs density 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Great Britain 0.82 0.83 0.83 0.83 0.83 0.84
South West 0.84 0.86 0.87 0.87 0.87 0.87
Dorset sub-region 0.84 0.84 0.84 0.85 0.83 0.87
Bournemouth 0.86 0.87 0.88 0.89 0.87 0.93
Poole 0.91 0.90 0.86 0.91 0.93 0.97
DCC Dorset 0.81 0.80 0.81 0.81 0.78 0.81
Christchurch 0.97 0.86 0.93 1.07 0.86 0.91
East Dorset 0.73 0.73 0.69 0.74 0.74 0.81
North Dorset 0.83 0.85 0.87 0.82 0.78 0.84
Purbeck 0.75 0.82 0.76 0.87 0.83 0.74
West Dorset 0.96 0.98 1.00 0.91 0.91 0.98
Weymouth &
Portland
0.64 0.57 0.61 0.54 0.56 0.55
Source: ONS Crown Copyright Reserved
Second jobs
DCC Dorset is estimated to have around 11,800 people with second jobs 17 , a range
of 8,500 -15,100. This is more than twice as many than in the Bournemouth and
Poole combined area. About three–fifths of these people with more than one job are
females (61 per cent).
In terms of what industries these people work in, 37 per cent are found in the Public
administration, education & health sector. More than a fifth works in Distribution,
hotels & restaurants in DCC Dorset.
In West Dorset, approximately 3,600 people have second jobs (1,800-5,400) and 61
per cent of these are female. More than two-thirds of those with second jobs work in
the service sector, largely in the Public administration, education and health sector
and Distribution, hotels and restaurants 18 .
Employment growth
Over the decade from 2006 to 2016, West Dorset is projected to see growth of
around 0.7 per cent per annum in the number of employed and self-employed jobs
(about 3,300 jobs) 19 . This is in line with the 0.7 per cent per annum growth projected
for the DCC Dorset area.
Over the next two decades, growth is expected to follow much the same pattern and
continue to be service sector led, especially by Education & Health; Distribution; and
Other Business Services. Employment in Manufacturing and in Agriculture is
expected to continue to decline in line with national and regional trends.
17 Annual Population Survey January-December 2007, ONS
18 Use with CAUTION – indication only, estimate and confidence unreliable since the group sample size
is small.
19 Local Economy Forecasting Model 2005, Cambridge Econometrics (SWRA Scenario 1). Note:
projections at this low geographical level should be treated with EXTREME CAUTION.

Employment Growth Estimates: West Dorset
2.5
2.0
Change 2016-2026
Change 2006-2016
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
-0.5
-1.0
1 Agriculture etc
7 Electronics
3 Food, Textiles & Wood
2 Mining & Quarrying
5 Chemicals & Minerals
6 Metals & Engineering
8 Transport Equipment
9 Manufacturing nes
10 Electricity, Gas & Water
14 Transport & Comms.
15 Banking & Insurance
4 Printing & Publishing
17 Public Admin. & Defence.
13 Hotels & Catering
11 Construction
19 Miscellaneous Services
16 Other Business Serv.
12 Distribution
18 Education & Health
Thousands
In addition to filling any new jobs, there will also be demands to replace those
workers who leave their positions for reasons such as ill-health or retirement – the
replacement demand. The scale of net employment demand, (expansion demand
plus replacement demand), is likely to be in the region of six times expansion
demand alone, largely due to retirement of the relatively elderly workforce of the
area.
Looking at this by occupation across the Dorset sub-region, the greatest requirement
is expected in:
• Caring Personal Service Occupations
• Corporate Managers
• Sales Occupations
• Teaching/Research Professionals
• Business/Public Service Associate Professionals
For the purposes of skills provision and training, it is also worth noting that, even
though some occupations may expected to have negative expansion demand, (eg
clerical occupations and skilled metal/electrical trades), the need to replace retiring
workers means that there will be a continuing training demand to fill vacancies with
appropriately skilled personnel.
Earnings
Earnings data are now available on a workplace basis or a residence basis 20 .
Workplace based earnings show the pay levels available in a particular area.
Residence based earnings look at the pay of people living in the area who may work
in the same area or may commute elsewhere. The Annual Survey of Hours and
Earnings is a sample survey and subject to sample error, as indicated below.
In 2007 on a workplace basis, median gross weekly earnings for full time
employees on adult rates in West Dorset fall below the national and regional
20 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2007, ONS

averages. Applying standard error data indicates a likely range of £339 to £446 per
week. This range falls below the national level, as does the range for the DCC
Dorset area as a whole.
Residence based data suggests gross weekly earnings for full time employees on
adult rates in West Dorset were below the regional and national averages. Applying
standard error data indicates a likely range of £362 to £489 per week with only a one
in twenty chance of earnings falling outside this. This overlaps with the ranges for
the wider geographies so no real difference can be discerned. In addition, the
workplace and residence based data for West Dorset also overlap each other
allowing no real distinction to be made between the two.
Average gross weekly pay for full-time employees (median)
Workplace
based
Residence
based
UK £ 456.7 £ 456.7
England & Wales £ 460.0 £ 460.0
England £ 462.0 £ 462.6
South West £ 427.8 £ 433.4
South East £ 480.7 £ 499.6
London £ 580.9 £ 553.3
Bournemouth £ 403.3 £ 414.0
Poole £ 446.9 £ 462.6
DCC Dorset £ 400.3 £ 415.4
Dorset sub-region £ 413.3 £ 429.5
Christchurch £ 429.9 £ 373.8
East Dorset £ 424.2 £ 446.6
North Dorset £ 385.4 £ 402.2
Purbeck £ 450.3 £ 443.6
West Dorset £ 392.6 £ 425.5
Weymouth & Portland £ 337.2 £ 383.4
Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2007, ONS
Across the country, average house prices have risen at a much faster rate than
earnings.
Jan-Mar
Detached
Semi-
Detached Terraced Flat/Maisonette Overall
West Dorset Av Price £ Av Price £ Av Price £ Av Price £ Av Price £
2008 £398,691 £267,668 £217,887 £164,584 £279,172
2007 £346,556 £246,125 £213,327 £173,612 £257,360
Source: HM Land Registry
A new Joseph Rowntree report, “Can’t Buy: Can Rent – the affordability of private
housing in Great Britain”, by Steve Wilcox (Winter 2007), includes local affordability
analyses. These look at average house price to income ratios for house purchase,
and the proportions of younger working households unable to buy at even the lower
end of the housing market. The costs of buying and renting are also compared,
where possible.

In Great Britain as a whole, the average house price to household earnings ratio was
4.28. This ratio was highest in London (5.08), the South West (4.84), and the South
East (4.67).
West Dorset has a house price to household earnings ratio of 5.03, higher than the
national and regional figures. With ratios in all parts of the Dorset sub-region above
five, affordability remains a serious problem.
Local Authority
House price to
household
income
Great Britain 4.28
London 5.08
South East 4.67
South West 4.84
Christchurch 6.96
East Dorset 6.57
Purbeck 6.13
Bournemouth 5.95
Poole 5.33
Weymouth & Portland 5.04
North Dorset 5.03
West Dorset 5.03
Source: Hometrack; electronic copy available at www.hometrack.co.uk.
Qualifications
The Census of Population 2001 showed that within DCC Dorset, West Dorset had a
lower than average proportion of those aged 16-74 years with no qualifications.
West Dorset also had a below average percentage qualified to level two, (see notes
below), and an above average percentage qualified to level four or above 21 .
21
Notes:
Level 1* 1+ 'O' level passes; 1+ CSE/GCSE any grades; NVQ level 1; Foundation GNVQ
Level 2 ** 5+ 'O' level passes; 5+ CSEs (grade 1's); 5+ GCSEs (grades A-C); School Certificate; 1+ 'A' levels/'AS' levels;
NVQ level 2; Intermediate GNVQ
Level 3 *** 2+ 'A' levels; 4+ AS levels; Higher School Certificate; NVQ level 3; Advanced GNVQ
Level 4/5 First degree; Higher degree; NVQ levels 4 and 5; HNC; HND; Qualified Teacher Status; Qualified Medical
Doctor; Qualified Dentist; Qualified Nurse; Midwife; Health Visitor

Qualifications at age 16-74 years
7.2% 8.2% 8.8% 8.6% 7.1% 8.2% 7.8% 9.1% 7.9%
18.8% 18.3% 16.6% 18.7%
18.2% 17.6%
21.3%
15.4% 17.9%
8.6% 7.4%
7.1%
7.5%
8.2% 7.4%
7.4%
6.9%
8.5%
21.4% 22.0%
22.0%
22.5% 23.0%
20.9%
21.6%
21.6%
21.9%
17.7% 17.9%
17.3%
17.4% 18.3%
18.5%
16.7%
19.6%
17.9%
26.2% 26.2% 28.2%
25.4% 25.0% 27.4% 25.3% 27.4% 26.0%
South West Dorset County Christchurch East Dorset North Dorset Purbeck West Dorset Weymouth and
Portland
Dorset subregion
No qualifications Highest qualification attained level 1* Highest qualification attained level 2**
Highest qualification attained level 3*** Highest qualification attained level 4/5 Other/unknown
Looking at the latest available GCSE qualifications data for 15 year old pupils in West
Dorset, more than two-thirds of students achieved five or more A*-C grades. At 68
per cent these results are above the regional and national average of 60 per cent.
%
All Pupils at the End of KS4 Achieving 5+ A* - C (Referenced by Pupil Residence)
Sep06-Aug07
80
68.3
70.8
67.9
70
63.7
60.4 59.5
61.7
63.5
59.4 57.4
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
England
South West
Christchurch
East Dorset
North Dorset
Purbeck
West Dorset
Weymouth and Portland
Bournemouth
Poole
Source: Neighbourhood Statistics, ONS

Vacancies and skill needs
A new report from Jobcentre Plus 22 showed that in 2005, more than a quarter of
businesses, (27%), nationwide were looking to recruit staff. At 42%, the South West
was one of the most buoyant regions. It was confirmed that well over a third, (39%),
of all vacancies are placed with Jobcentre Plus, more than any other recruitment
method including newspapers, (35%), internet recruitment, (14%) and recruitment
agencies, (13%). An average of 10,000 vacancies each week are placed with
‘Employer Direct’ online, the free Jobcentre Plus internet service for employers
(www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk ).
Most vacancies were with medium sized or larger employers, although smaller
employers were most actively recruiting.
Recruitment activity was particularly high in the Public sector; Healthcare; Retail; and
Hospitality.
On average over the first half of 2008, West Dorset had 446 unfilled vacancies with
Jobcentre Plus.
Almost one-quarter of these were for Elementary occupations and just over one-fifth
were for Personal Service occupations.
Jobcentre Plus: unfilled vacancies, July-December 2006
West Dorset
1 : Managers and Senior Officials 27
2 : Professional Occupations 14
3 : Associate Professional and Technical Occupations 46
4 : Administrative and Secretarial Occupations 40
5 : Skilled Trades Occupations 57
6 : Personal Service Occupations 94
7 : Sales and Customer Service occupations 33
8 : Process, Plant and Machine Operatives 33
9 : Elementary Occupations 103
Total 446
Source: ONS Crown Copyright Reserved
22 Summarised on their website at http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/jcp/news/ssc090506140300.xml.html

Deprivation
The Indices of Deprivation were updated in December 2007. Although seven
different forms of deprivation are measured, this section refers to the Index of
Multiple Deprivation (IMD) which is a single composite of these measures. Out of
149 counties/unitary authorities in England, DCC Dorset is ranked as the 25 th least
deprived. DCC Dorset ranked fifth least deprived of the fifteen counties/UAs in the
South West region.
County/Unitary Authority
in South West
Average IMD
Score
Rank of Average
Score 23
Bristol, City of 27.76 49
Torbay 26.42 55
Plymouth 26.11 58
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 23.98 69
Bournemouth 22.99 76
Devon 17.44 102
Swindon 16.94 105
Somerset 15.90 112
North Somerset 15.01 117
Poole 14.93 118
Gloucestershire 14.68 121
Dorset 14.19 125
Bath and North East Somerset 11.47 136
Wiltshire 10.39 140
South Gloucestershire 9.58 141
At a district/borough level, although ranking 108 out of 354, Bournemouth, for
example, is within the top third of the most deprived district/boroughs in England,
West Dorset ranks 210 showing much lower levels of deprivation.
District/Borough
Average IMD Rank of Average
Score 24
Score 25
Bournemouth 22.99 108
Weymouth and Portland 21.19 127
Poole 14.93 216
West Dorset 15.51 210
Christchurch 14.68 220
Purbeck 13.49 241
North Dorset 13.02 247
East Dorset 8.22 325
The Index of Deprivation 2007 is provided at super output area level (SOA) which is
an area containing an average population of 3,000. There are 247 SOAs in DCC
Dorset and 32,482 nationally. In rural areas, many SOAs are the same areas as
existing wards.
23 Rank of population weighted average of the combined scores for the SOAs in a County, where 1 is
most deprived and 149 is the least deprived
24 Population weighted average of the combined scores for the SOAs in a district
25 Rank of population weighted average of the combined scores for the SOAs in a district, where 1 is
most deprived and 354 is the least deprived

Ten of the 247 SOAs in DCC Dorset fall in the top 20 per cent of most deprived areas
nationally of which two, both in Weymouth and Portland, fall in the top ten per cent
with a further eight in the top 20 per cent.
59 of the 247 DCC Dorset SOAs fall in the top 20 per cent of least deprived areas
nationally of which 28 fall in the top ten per cent. 22 of the top ten per cent of least
deprived SOAs are in East Dorset.
Within DCC Dorset, 14 of the top ten per cent of most deprived SOAs are located
within Weymouth and Portland representing more than a third of the 39 SOAs in this
district. Of the other SOAs in the most deprived ten per cent, there are three in
Christchurch, one each in East Dorset and North Dorset, and five are in West Dorset.
None of the Purbeck SOAs fall in the ten per cent most deprived.
Of the 25 SOAs that fall in the ten per cent least deprived areas in DCC Dorset, 20
are located in East Dorset, one each in North Dorset, West Dorset and Purbeck and
two in Weymouth and Portland. None of the Christchurch SOAs fall in the ten per
cent least deprived.
Five of West Dorset’s 57 SOAs: Bridport Skilling, Bridport Court Orchard, Dorchester
Town Centre, Sherborne East Gryphon and Bridport Centre & Allington fall in the ten
per cent most deprived in DCC Dorset, with a further seven falling in the 20 per cent
most deprived areas.
Most Deprived
Super Output Area
IMD National Rank
(out of 32,482)
IMD Dorset Rank
(out of 247)
Bridport Skilling 7258 12
Bridport Court Orchard 7826 13
Dorchester Town Centre 9396 14
Sherborne East Gryphon 11301 20
Bridport Centre & Allington 12274 24
Crossways 12873 27
Fordington East 13097 31
Chesil Bank 13540 34
Bridport Centre North 13551 35
Marshwood Vale 14115 41
Broadwindsor 14505 46
Poundbury South 14530 47
Source: Indices of Deprivation, ODPM
Five SOAs in West Dorset: Bradford Abbas, Chickerell Environs, Sherborne West
Lenthay, Dorchester Monmouth Road and Dorchester Manor Park, fall within the 20
per cent least deprived areas nationally including two: Dorchester Monmouth Road
and Dorchester Manor Park, within the ten per cent least deprived.

Comparison of Deprivation in DCC Dorset Districts
100%
80%
60%
40%
Weymouth and Portland
West Dorset
Purbeck
North Dorset
East Dorset
Christchurch
20%
0%
10% most 20% most mid 60% 20% least 10% least
Unemployment
In line with the national trend, claimant unemployment has continued to fall in West
Dorset with a decrease in the annual average rate in 2007.
Over the last eight years, the average West Dorset claimant unemployment rate has
hovered just below the DCC Dorset average. On average over 2007, the rate for
West Dorset was 0.8 per cent of the resident working age population with 427
unemployed claimants compared with 0.9 per cent in DCC Dorset. At July 2008,
claimant unemployment in West Dorset was 0.7 per cent with 361 registered for
JobSeeker’s Allowance 26 .
Claimant unemployment rate as a percentage of working age
population: historic trend
Per cent
5.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
Great Britain
South West
DCC Dorset
West Dorset
1.0
0.0
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Source: Claimant count data, ONS
Characteristics of the unemployed over 2007:
On average over 2007, 68 per cent of unemployed claimants in West Dorset were
male, below the DCC Dorset average of 71 per cent.
26 ONS, claimant count data, December 2006

47 per cent of claimants were aged 35 years or more, and 33 per cent were aged 24
or less. Both figures are in line with the DCC Dorset average. 18 per cent of
claimants were aged 50 years or more, slightly below the DCC Dorset average of 20
per cent.
100%
Duration of Unemployment
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Great Britain
South West
DCC Dorset
Christchurch
East Dorset
North Dorset
up to 4 weeks
4 weeks up to 13 weeks
3-6 months 6-12 months
12-24mths
>24mths
Purbeck
West Dorset
Weymouth and Portland
Eight per cent of the claimants were long term unemployed – out of work for twelve
months or more – the same as the average for DCC Dorset. Unemployment was
more likely to be short term with just over one-quarter of claimants having been out of
work for less than four weeks. Unemployment would therefore appear to be largely
frictional as people undergo an employment gap between jobs.
Rosie Martin, Nikki Taylor and Anne Gray
Research and Information Group
Dorset County Council
(01305) 224575
Last updated November 2008