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).  

In the Jan 2020-Dec 2020 12 month period, compared to England as a whole, the North East LEP area had: 

• 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, in Jan 2020-Dec 2020, compared to nationally, the North East had 

• particularly high percentages of employment 
  • in customer service occupations; 
  • as health professionals;
  • in elementary administration and service occupations; and 
  • in caring personal service occupations
• lower than average proportions of workers who are
  • corporate managers and directors; 
  • business, media and public service professionals;
  • business, media and public service associate professionals; and
  • science, research, engineering and technology 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 occupations and sales and customer services occupations.   However, other occupation groups in the North East within the middle and lower tier of this classification had decreases in employment, especially administrative and skilled trades occupations .

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

Note that these charts compare the latest data (Jan 2020-Dec 2020) with the data for the same period in 2014, which differs from the headline more and better jobs target statistics. The statistics are based on surveys taken over a twelve-month period, a quarter of which was outside of the period where COVID-19 was impacting the labour market.