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Local economic information

To help businesses with their relocation decisions, we have created an economic profile for Ashfield.

Economic profile

  • Population:131,093 (As of 2021 taken from Lightcast Emsi Burning Glass Economic Report*)
  • Working age population (aged 16 to 64): 78,000  (NOMIS, December 2022)
  • Our labour force: 67,350 people 
  • Average wages - £564 per week 
  • Unemployment - 2910 people (This equates to 3.73% of the working age population) (NOMIS, January 2023)
  • Average housing prices - £178,385 (This is 34% lower than regional average)
  • Number of businesses - 4276 businesses (As identified in January 2023 from FAME)
  • Number of business parks - 13 (See the commercial property page on this website for details)
  • Number of retail shops - 700 (an approximate figure, as this changes periodically)
  • Number of people employed in our district - 50,973 (From Lightcast December 2022 report)
  • In demand skills include: Warehousing, Nursing, Auditing and Mental Health all are above the the national average in our District (From Lightcast December 2202 Report)
  • GDP £3.3 Billion; Ashfield contributes 0.2% to the UK Economy. (From Varbes November 2022)

Major industries

  • Health 
  • Wholesale & Retail 
  • Manufacturing 
  • Construction 
  • Transport and storage 
  • Education

Quick Summary of main take away information:

  • As of 2021 our population as increased by 5.3% since 2016, growing by 6580. Population is expected to increase by 4.2% between 2021 and 2026, adding 5544
  • Ashfield's labour market retirement risk is about average. The national average for an area this size is 47,905 people 55 or older, while there are 49,116 in Ashfield
  • From 2016 to 2021, jobs have declined by 0.1% in Ashfield from 51,006 to 50,979. This change fell short of the national growth rate of 1.3% by 1.4%
  • Concerning educational attainment, 15.0% of Ashfield residents possess a Degree or equivalent and above - SCQF level 9 (Scottish credit and qualifications framework )(18.6% below the national average), and 7.3% hold a Higher Education below Degree level - SCQF L7-8 (0.7% below the national average)
  • Our top 3 industries in 2021 are Hospital activities, Construction of other Civil Engineering projects and Warehousing and Storage
  • Our top 3 growing industries are Hospital activities, Transportation and Storage, Information and Communication. 

Contact us

If you would like further information, please get in touch with our team:

This page was last updated March 2023.