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Data Downloads

Through the Lancashire Profile website, the Research and Intelligence Team offers analysis of the latest economic and social statistics relating to the sub-region. However, we realise that you may wish to perform your own analysis tailored to your own needs. To this end, we provide here convenient and comprehensive downloads of the data our analyses are based on. The sources we use generally provide national data but we condense this to what is most relevant to the student of Lancashire's economy, usually with comparisons at the regional and national level.

Data downloads are provided in Microsoft Excel spreadsheet (XLS) format. Many spreadsheet programs are compatible with Excel and will happily open an XLS file. Or you may want to get Microsoft's free Excel Viewer, which will let you see, print and copy the spreadsheet but not edit it. Alternatively, you can request the data in comma-separated variable (CSV) format by emailing John.Baker@lancashire.gov.uk. We keep the formatting of the data as simple as possible. In particular, there are no formulas, links or look-ups, no merged cells and no fancy fonts or colouring effects.

Data is often broken down by:

  • Geographical areas, usually administrative divisions such as counties, districts, unitary authorities or wards, or census divisions such as super output areas. For more information on the hierarchy of geographical units, go to the Office for National Statistics Geography site. Geographical breakdowns are generally arranged vertically, i.e. there is a separate row for each geographical area.
  • Time steps, so that the data constitutes a time series. A step in the series may represent a snapshot of the situation at that time or it may be a value averaged over neighbouring times. Full information on this is given in each download's accompanying notes. Chronological breakdowns are generally arranged horizontally, i.e. there is a separate column for each time step.
  • Other categories, such as industry sector, age group or gender. These may be arranged horizontally or vertically or, where there is more than one set of categories, as a combination of both.

All the information provided here is in the public domain and may be freely used, subject to occasional strictures which will be given in each download's notes. If you find the data you get from the Lancashire Profile Data Download Centre useful, please cite the Research and Intelligence Team and the Lancashire Profile website (www.lancashireprofile.com) in your work.

The Data Download Centre is a continual work in progress and new data sets are being added all the time, so check back often. If you have any questions, find any mistakes or have a request for a set of data you would like to see here, email John.Baker@lancashire.gov.uk.