Employment by occupation

Employment numbers can be broken down into different occupations as well as into different industries. There are nine occupation types within the broadest classification (SOC2010 major groups) and 25 within the next, more detailed, classification (SOC2010 sub-major groups).  

Compared to England as a whole, the North East LEP area has: 

• Higher percentages of employment in caring, leisure and other service occupations e.g. care workers and hairdressers; in sales and customer service occupations, e.g. sales assistants and retail cashiers ; as process, plant and machine operatives, e.g. assemblers of goods and transport or mobile machine drivers; and in elementary occupations, e.g. elementary cleaning and storage occupations
• Similar proportions in employment in administrative and secretarial occupations, e.g. bank clerks and company secretaries; and skilled trades occupations, e.g. construction and building trades or electrical and electronic trades
• Smaller percentages of employment in the occupations that are identified as "better jobs" in the North East Strategic Economic Plan (SEP): Managers, directors and senior officials; professional occupations, e.g. health or teaching professionals; and associate professional & technical occupations, e.g. protective service occupations or science and engineering technicians.

At a more detailed level, the North East has 

• particularly high percentages of employment in customer service occupations; in elementary administration and service occupations; as health professionals; and in caring personal service occupations, when compared to the national percentages
• lower than average proportions of workers who are corporate managers and directors; business, media and public service professionals; or business & public service associate professionals.

In the six years from 2014, there has been growth in levels of employment in the North East in the three better jobs occupations and also among some traditionally lower paid occupation groups such as caring and leisure and elementary occupations.   However, occupation groups in the North East within the middle tier of this classification such as administrative and skilled trades occupations had decreases in employment.

At a more detailed level, there have been particularly large increases in employment as science, research, engineering and technology professionals; in caring personal service occupations; as health professionals; and as business & public service associate professionals. On the other hand, there have been large decreases in the numbers of workers in skilled metal, electrical and electronic trades; sales occupations; and administrative occupations.

Note that these charts compare the latest data (Oct 2019-Sep 2020) with the data for the same period in 2013-14, which differs from the headline more and better jobs target statistics. The statistics are based on surveys taken over a twelve-month period, almost half of which was outside of the period where COVID-19 was impacting the labour market.