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Introduction

The following article uses results from the Annual Population Survey (APS). The APS was introduced in 2004 to replace the Labour Force Survey (LFS). It initially comprised the annual LFS supplemented by an extra boost designed to obtain a sample of 500 economically active adults in each local authority district. As a cost saving measure, the supplementary information was scaled back in mid-2005 and withdrawn from January 2006.

The APS figures used in this research monitor are for the 12-district Lancashire County Council (NUTS-3) area; the 14-authority Lancashire NUTS-2 area that includes Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool unitary authorities, and comparator figures for Great Britain.

For the year to June 2007, the APS survey interviewed 280,661 people. In the Lancashire NUTS-2 area, 6,187 interviews took place. Broken down by the individual authorities in Lancashire, over were undertaken in the two unitary authorities of Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool. The impact of the interviews in these two authorities will therefore have a disproportionately high affect on the overall Lancashire results.

The complete range of available data sets from the Annual Population Survey for all areas of the country can be downloaded from www.nomisweb.co.uk. Once users have registered on the nomisweb site, it is possible to download all APS variables along with a wide range of other official government figures.

Please note that the earlier editions of the research monitor in the archive section of this website contain LFS results that go back to 1997.

Employment Rate Working Age (National Performance Indicator NI151)

Table 1, lists the employment numbers and rates for those of working age results for 2004 onwards. The Lancashire County Council area (NUTS-3) results are the most liable to statistical errors due to the small sample size, but the general impression is of employment rates that are marginally lower the GB average. For the broader Lancashire NUTS-2 area, the addition of the two unitary authorities appears to lower even further the recorded employment rates.

There is a desire to analyse NI 151 results down to the district authority level, but the sample sizes make analysis for the 12-district authorities in Lancashire very problematic. For the year to June 2007, only two of the 12 districts had sample sizes in excess of 300, whilst two other authorities recorded figures of fewer than 160 people interviewed.

Self-Employment, Historical Context and Recent Results

At the national level, self-employment as a proportion of the adult population has grown over the last twenty years. The period 1986 to 1990 in particular saw a high rate of growth with the proportion rising 6.3% to 7.9%. This growth in self-employment in the 1980s was attributed to government incentives such as the small business start-up scheme, the growth in long-term unemployment, the expansion of the service sector, where self-employment is more prevalent, coupled with the decline in manufacturing, and the shift towards contracting-out of services by large employers.

In general, the self-employed are more commonly associated with skilled trade occupations i.e., in the Construction sector, also business activity industries such as Banking, Finance and Insurance. There is also a geographic tendency towards higher self-employment levels in London and the South East.

Self-employment is generally entered into most frequently after the age of 30. This is partly due to the need for people to acquire sufficient experience and financial resources. The proportion of the self-employed therefore is found to increase with age, especially for those over the retirement ages of 59/64.

Table 2, self-employment data for Great Britain, the county council broader Lancashire. Unlike Table 1 and 3, the figures are for all people aged over 16 and not just those of working age.

For the past few years at the national level, the Annual Population Survey results have suggested a rate of self-employment of between 12.6%-13.1%, with the trend being slightly upwards. The more statistically volatile results for the two Lancashire areas suggest lower rates of self-employment in comparison to the national average.

Economic Activity Rates

The APS results for the percentage of working people who are economically active reveal that activity rates in the broader Lancashire area have been consistently below the national average. Excluding the two unitaries, the figures for the Lancashire County Council area are between the lower Lancashire NUTS-2 results and the higher rates recorded at the national level.

For further details, or if you have any ideas for improving the content of this article, please contact:
Bryan Moulding
Tel 01772 534172
Email Bryan.Moulding@lancashire.gov.uk