Labour Market Report 2022

The Labour Market report provides an assessment of West Yorkshire’s skills needs based on a detailed analysis of the supply and demand of skills in the area. It examines the strengths and weaknesses of the local labour market, including structural factors which may continue to impact the region in the future.

The information outlined in the report is designed to inform local policy development, as well as curriculum strategies of local institutions. Organisations are encouraged to use the data provided to plan recruitment and training strategies, whilst educational practitioners may find the data useful in advising young people in their career plans.

Users may browse all sections of the report by scrolling, or jump directly to sections of interest using the navigation bar at the top of the page. Resource packs relating to key sections are available to download.

This online resource highlights the key information in the 2022 Labour Market Report. Click below for the full report.

Productivity

West Yorkshire’s position on skills has a direct impact on its performance on productivity, pay and employment and hence on the overall level of prosperity in the area.

West Yorkshire under-performs on productivity.

Increased productivity is the main contributor to growth in the wider economy and provides the foundation for improvements in living standards.

Output per hour worked in West Yorkshire fell from 88% of the England average in 2007 to 85% in 2019, indicating that local productivity growth has lagged the rate of growth seen nationally and the gap in productivity performance has widened. 

All local authorities in West Yorkshire have a level of productivity that is below the West Yorkshire average, except Leeds; its output per hour of £33.26 is still only 94% of the national average. 

Pay

Productivity is closely linked to pay and therefore to living standards: more productive firms pay higher wages. 

Local pay is below the national average.

The local productivity deficit is reflected in the pay situation.  Median gross weekly pay for full-time jobs in West Yorkshire is £565, 92% of the England average.  At local authority level this varies between £528 in Kirklees (86% of the national average) to £595 in Leeds (97% of the national average).

A significant proportion of jobs in West Yorkshire pay below the Real Living Wage.

Eighteen percent of local jobs, almost 170,000 in absolute terms, pay less than the Living Wage Foundation’s Living Wage rate, which is intended to reflect the level of pay people need to get by.  In Kirklees, 22% of jobs fall below the Living Wage threshold, the biggest proportion in West Yorkshire.

What’s driving the reduction in low pay against this measure?  It coincides with recent increases in the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) rates. The improvement also coincides with the additional increase in the NMW for those aged 23 and 24 years, who join those aged 25 years and over in receiving the NLW in 2021.

West Yorkshire’s gender pay gap is the same as the England average.

West Yorkshire faces a significant gender pay gap.  The overall pay gap for all employee jobs locally is 16%, the same as the national average.  The size of this gap partly reflects the fact that women are more likely than men to work in part-time roles which attract a lower hourly rate of pay.  However, at 10% the gap for full-time jobs is smaller but still substantial, and slightly above the national average. 

The gender pay gap for all jobs is highest in Calderdale and Kirklees at 18% and lowest in Wakefield at 14%.  Bradford is the same as the West Yorkshire and national average and Leeds slightly below at 15%. 

Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield have negative gender pay gaps for part-time workers.  This shows that male part-time workers in these local authorities are low-paid relative to their female counterparts.

The highest paid jobs in the region are paid significantly less than the highest paid jobs nationally and this is the main source of the overall pay gap.  This, in turn, reflects the under-representation of jobs in the highest skilled and highest paid occupations in the region.

 

Patterns of sectoral employment change

The pattern of growth and decline across industry sectors is a key driver of change in terms of skills requirements.

Service activities have been the main sources of recent sectoral employment growth but manufacturing and construction also grew.

The business service categories of Administration and support services, Transportation and storage and Professional scientific and technical activities had the highest net employment growth followed by Health and Accommodation and food services.  Looking beyond services, Construction also grew substantially over this period, as did Manufacturing, albeit only to a modest extent.

The latest national data indicates that some sectors have not fully recovered in employment terms following the pandemic.

At national level the number of workforce jobs fell by 3% during the early part of the pandemic, between December 2019 and December 2020.  A wide range of sectors shared in the decline, including Accommodation and food service, Manufacturing, Construction, Wholesale and retail and Arts, entertainment and recreation.  Some sectors grew, however, most notably Public administration and Health and social work. 

Comparing the picture in December 2021 with December 2019, Manufacturing employment remains 6% below pre-pandemic levels (-134,000), Construction 5% below (-102,000), and Accommodation and food service 4% below (-76,000).  Employment in Wholesale and retail continued to decline in this period and is 200,000 below its pre-COVID position. 

Profile of occupational employment

 

How is employment in West Yorkshire distributed at a detailed occupational level?  This gives an insight into the profile of work that people do locally and the skills needed to do that work.

Administrative, Elementary admin and service and Business and public service associate professional roles are the biggest occupations in West Yorkshire.

The five largest groups, each employing more than 80,000 people in West Yorkshire are:

• Administrative occupations, including book-keepers, payroll managers and admin roles in finance and local government, employing 103,000 people.
• Elementary administration and service roles (employing 93,000 people), a category which includes hospitality staff such as waiters / waitresses, bar staff and kitchen and catering assistants; cleaners; and elementary storage roles.
• Business and public service associate professionals (employing 90,000), a diverse category which includes sales and marketing, human resources, financial and public service roles at the associate professional level.
• Corporate managers (employment of 85,000), which comprises management roles from across different parts of the economy, including retail, production managers in manufacturing and construction, financial managers and marketing and sales managers.
• Caring personal services (employment of 84,000), which includes care workers and home carers, teaching assistants, nursing auxiliaries and nursery nurses

Overall, employment in higher skilled management, professional and associate professional occupations is under-represented in West Yorkshire.  These occupations account for 48% of total employment compared with 50% nationally.  In absolute terms this represents a deficit of 28,000 fewer people in higher skilled employment.

 

Patterns of change in occupational employment

Growth in employment is being driven by higher skilled occupations and but also by administrative and caring occupations.

 The occupational area seeing the biggest growth in absolute terms (+23,000) and also the fastest rate of growth for this period (+51%) is Science, research, engineering and technology professionals.  Growth has largely been driven by increased employment for digital professionals.

Business and public service associate professionals also saw substantial grow in both absolute (+16,000) and percentage terms (+20%). 

Employment in Administrative roles grew during this period (+10,300; +13%).

Caring personal services continued its long-term upward trend in employment, with net growth of 10,000 or 12%.  National data would suggest that Care workers and home carers plus Nursing auxiliaries and assistants made substantial contribution to this growth.

Elementary administration and service occupations experienced the biggest decline in employment over this period, falling by 8,000; although because of the large size of this category this equates to a fall of only 8%.

Employment in Sales occupations also fell by 8,000, a 12% rate of decline. 

Employment in Secretarial roles fell by 6,000 or 24% over the period, the fastest percentage rate of decline of any occupation. 

The occupations that saw the fastest rate of growth in percentage terms were, again, higher skilled: Culture, media and sports (+39%: +7,000), Science, engineering and technology associate professionals (+39%; +7,000) and Health professionals (+26%; +10,000).

Vacancies (online job postings)

Job vacancies provide a key insight into the level and nature of current labour demand and employer skills needs.  At local level this means examining the types of job that are being advertised via online job postings and the skills that are being specified in those postings.  This gives an insight into current recruitment levels and patterns and the timeliness of these data provide an insight into recent developments in a volatile labour market.

National data shows vacancies at record levels for most industries.

For context, we have also drawn on official data at national level from ONS’ vacancy survey  This shows that vacancies in all sectors are well in excess of their pre-pandemic level, with particularly strong rates of growth seen in Accommodation and food service (+93%), Construction (+85%), Manufacturing (+81%) and Professional scientific and technical (+79%).

Accommodation and food service is the sector with by far the highest ratio of vacancies to employment, reflecting the intense recruitment demand in the sector following the re-opening of the economy. 

Online job postings have grown strongly since the re-opening of the economy although the outlook is uncertain in view of the potential effects of the cost of living crisis and the war in Ukraine.

The level of recruitment activity in the local labour market was profoundly affected by the COVID-19 lockdown.  However, the count of online job postings for job openings in West Yorkshire recovered to pre-pandemic levels by the autumn of 2020 and has grown since then, gathering momentum with the re-opening of the economy in summer 2021. 

Some sectors increased their share of total postings during 2020-21 due to Covid-19.  The most notable example is Health and social work, which faced intense demands on its capacity during this period.  Other sectors, most obviously Accommodation and food service experienced a sharp decline in its share of postings in 2020-21 as much of its activities were restricted during prolonged lockdown periods.  This was also the case for sectors such as Arts, entertainment and recreation and Retail. 

Higher skilled occupations are ranked highest in terms of volume of postings.

The occupational profile of local job postings is broadly similar to the national average, although there are differences at local authority level.

Higher skilled management, professional and associate professional occupations account for a similar proportion of total postings in West Yorkshire compared with nationally, at a combined 57% versus 58%.  In Leeds the proportion is above the national average at 63% but it falls to 51% in Bradford and only 40% in Calderdale, 48% in Kirklees and 47% in Wakefield.  Almost two-thirds of postings for higher skilled jobs across the five local authorities relates to opportunities in Leeds.

Relative to the national average Leeds has strong demand for Corporate managers, Science, research, engineering and technology professionals (including digital professionals), Business, media and public service professionals and Business and public service associate professionals. 

It is important to note that all 25 of the occupational categories enjoyed growth in absolute terms during the April to March 2021/22 period as the overall volume of job postings increased by more than 100% compared with the previous 12-month period.

The occupations that saw the fastest growth in absolute terms compared with pre-pandemic were as follows:

• Science, research, engineering and technology professionals (Programmers and software development professionals and IT business analysts saw the biggest growth in this category).
• Business, media & public service professionals (with biggest growth for management consultants, accountants, solicitors and project management professionals).
• Administrative (with largest growth in demand for business admin roles and book-keepers).
• Business, media & public service professionals (with notable growth for human resource specialists, marketing specialists, finance / investment analysts / advisers and sales executives / managers.
• Caring personal service (with the biggest growth in absolute terms for care workers / home carers, teaching assistants and nursing auxiliaries).

 

Higher Apprenticeships

As higher skilled jobs increasingly dominate the employment scene, higher apprenticeships gain greater significance particularly for occupations in which exposure to the workplace is key.  The number of higher apprenticeship starts in West Yorkshire increased by 27% in 2020/21, offsetting decline for the other levels and giving a total of around higher 4,300 starts during the academic year. 

Apprenticeships at levels 4, 6 and 7 grew strongly in terms of starts, by 46%, 35% and 32% respectively; with starts at level 5 growing by 6%.

Disadvantaged pupils are less likely to enter an apprenticeship in all parts of West Yorkshire.

Across all council areas of West Yorkshire disadvantaged pupils are less likely to enter an apprenticeship than other pupils on the completion of Key Stage 4.  Although West Yorkshire has an overall apprenticeship entry rate that is above the national average, only 3% of pupils eligible for free school meals enter an apprenticeship compared with 5% of pupils who are not eligible.  The gap is particularly wide for pupils in Leeds and Wakefield.

There is acute gender segregation within apprenticeships and ethnic minority groups are under-represented, particularly in young people who undertake apprenticeships.

Adult Education

Looking beyond apprenticeships there is also significant public investment in further education, including Education and Training and Community Learning provision.

The impact of the pandemic continued to be felt in 2020/21 academic year.

The level of participation on Education and Training courses fell by 1,240 (-3%) in 2020/21 following a 16% fall in the previous year.  Community Learning was hardest hit with a fall in participation of 5,960 (-38%) following a 25% decline in 2019/20.

The extent of the decline in participation in 2020/21 varied by local authority area.  Wakefield saw the largest fall in Education and Training participation of 8% (-430), while in contrast Leeds saw growth of 3% (+380). 

The performance of different subject areas presented a mixed picture during 2020/21.

Preparation for Life and Work is the largest subject area in enrolment terms within this programme strand.  It saw a further fall in enrolments in 2020/21 of -1,260 (-4%) but this was a less pronounced decline than in 2019/20.

Other subjects which saw decline, include:

• Information and Communication Technology: -1,434 (-36%), with a big fall in ICT User enrolments.
• Retail and Commercial Enterprise: -529 (-11%), with big falls in Hospitality and Catering, Retailing and Wholesaling and Warehousing and Distribution.
• In contrast, some subject areas saw substantial growth in 2020/21, most notably:
• Health, Public Services and Care: +2,144 (+17%), with growth concentrated in Health and Social Care.
• Business, Administration and Law: +606 (+9%), with strong growth in Administration enrolments.
• Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies: +304 (+27%).
• Health, public services and care is the only subject area with a higher level of enrolments in 2020/21 than in 2018/19 (pre-pandemic).

Higher Education

It has already been noted that West Yorkshire has a deficit of higher-level qualifications among its working age population; however, it has a large and diverse higher education sector.

West Yorkshire enjoys a net inflow of HE students.

With around 95,000 students enrolled at its seven institutions during the 2019/20 academic year, West Yorkshire has one of the largest higher education sectors outside London. 

Just over a third (37%) of students enrolled at West Yorkshire institutions are from West Yorkshire.

The subject profile of qualifiers has also remained broadly stable over time with Computer Science accounting for 3% of the total (around 700 per annum), Engineering & technology for 5% (c.1,200) and Architecture, building & planning around 1-2% (400).

West Yorkshire provision has a distinctive subject profile

The subject profile of qualifiers from West Yorkshire’s HEIs is somewhat different to the national picture, particularly with reference to subjects in key skill shortage areas.  Architecture, building and planning and Computing both account for smaller proportions of total qualifiers than is the case nationally, although Engineering and technology contributes a slightly larger proportion.  Conversely, West Yorkshire is above average in terms of Subjects allied to medicine (a category which includes nursing), Biological and sports sciences and particularly in Design, and creative and performing arts.  More broadly, science and technology subjects account for a similar proportion of total qualifiers as nationally, at 42% and 43% respectively.

Around a quarter of qualifiers from West Yorkshire institutions are in employment in the region 15 months later.

For some technical subjects, West Yorkshire retention rates are relatively low; for example, 13% for Agriculture, 15% for Mathematical Sciences and 19% for both Physical Sciences and Engineering and technology.  Education is at the top of the ranking, with a rate of 34%, followed by Law and Subjects allied to medicine. 

Disadvantaged pupils in West Yorkshire are less likely to enter higher education with no sign of sustained reduction in the gap.

West Yorkshire’s overall progression rate into higher education, at 41%, is two percentage points below the national average.  It is also below the average for free school meal (FSM) and non-free school meal pupils.

Performance on entry rates varies by local authority.  Wakefield and Leeds have the lowest overall entry rates, which are 7 and 4 points below the national average respectively.  Bradford is two points below but Calderdale and Kirklees each outperform the national average by 2 points.

Wakefield and Leeds also under-perform against the national average with regard to FSM pupils, by 11 points and 7 points respectively.  The remaining three local authorities outperform the national average, by 4 percentage points in the case of Calderdale.

Skill mismatches reflect an imbalance between supply and demand in the labour market, between the skills available and the skills needed by employers and the wider economy. 

This inability to obtain the skills that are needed is a key barrier to business growth and improved productivity for firms.  In some cases, individuals invest in skills that have limited economic value in terms of employer demand and this represents a missed opportunity for the individual and a constraint on their career potential.

Skills mismatches are often short term, as the operation of the market leads to an increase in the supply of people with the necessary skills, but in some cases, they are acute and persistent, with significant implications for business performance.  This kind of market failure presents a policy priority but also offers an opportunity for individuals considering their career options to target areas of unmet demand.

Essential digital skills

Digital skills are becoming increasingly essential to daily life as well as being key requirements for the workplace. 

To have the foundations of Essential Digital Skills (EDS), is to be able to access the Internet by yourself.  A number of things must be true for this to be the case, including an individual being able to use a device, connect to a Wi-Fi network and create and update passwords.  However, many adults lack these skills at a basic foundation level and can therefore be considered to be digitally excluded.

Certain population groups more likely to be digitally excluded, most notably older people, people who are less qualified, those with a sensory impairment, those on a low income, those who are not working and people living alone.

Demand and supply for high skilled workers

Growth in higher-skilled jobs continues to outpace that in the number of higher qualified people.

As of the period from January to December 2020 the number of higher qualified workers stood at 487,000 whilst the number working in high skilled occupations stood at 541,000.

There was a sharp increase in people qualified to Level 4+ and in the number of people in higher skilled employment in 2020, in spite of the impact of the pandemic.