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THE CURRENT EMPLOYMENT SITUATION
The 1991 Census indicated that about 16,800 of the Park’s residents were in work. About half of these worked in the Park. About 6,500 residents commuted to the cities and towns surrounding the Park and around 4,250 people commuted into the Park to work. The Census of population indicated that there were about 12,600 jobs in the park, broken down by industry as follows:-
| Service sector | 11,000 |
| Manufacturing | 3,500 |
| Agriculture | 2,000 |
| Quarrying | 1,400 |
The major employer was the service sector (which includes tourist related jobs, shops and restaurants plus other services such as garages or plumbers). However, one person may have more than one job (e.g. a farmer may also provide tourist accommodation and road haulage).
Some employees in the retail, tourism and service areas where there are many part time workers are quite lowly paid. For example in 1989 52% of the retail workforce and 43% of the tourism workforce earned £3,000 or less.
The minerals and road haulage sectors are better paid. In 1989 55% of the mineral workforce and 41% of the road haulage workforce earned over £10,000.
However at the time of the Census, 73 % of people working in the Peak National Park still earned less than £10,000 per annum. A high proportion of residents also worked long hours. 27.1% worked more than 40 hours a week compared with 17.2% in England as a whole.
Changes in employment patterns
During the 1980s many businesses expanded and increased the number of staff employed. This was most marked in the tourism and service businesses. In tourism alone 23% of firms had taken on more full time staff between 1984 and 1989 and 28% had taken on more part time staff.
The 1991 Census showed an overall fall in the number of working men (from 76.1% in 1981 to 72.9% in 1991) and an overall rise in the number of working women (from 39.6% in 1981 to 48.2% in 1991). This was in line with national trends. The Census also showed a high proportion of men and women in part time work and a high level of self employment. 25.4% of working people in the Park were self-employed, compared with 11.7% in England as a whole.
Pattern of Employment
Unemployment
The level of unemployment in the Park tends to follow national trends but is well below national levels. In January 1992 the overall percentage of people in the Park who were unemployed and claiming benefit was 6.4% compared to 10.1% in the UK as a whole.
However, monthly unemployment figures do not always reflect the true picture of under-employment and seasonal work. There are higher levels of part-time working and of people working less than 40 hours a week in the Park, compared with the rest of the country.
A study was made in 1991 of ‘Hidden Deprivation in the Countryside’. This found that under-employment, the part-time and seasonal nature of many jobs, together with low rates of pay in rural activities led to growing problems for many local families.
People out of work
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