Eden has experienced large fluctuations in employment over the last two decades, but overall growth has been strong. In line with Cumbria as a whole, employment expanded sharply between 1987 and 1989 but fell back as quickly over the following two years. However, in contrast to the County and wider region, Eden regained strong employment growth post-1991, outstripping the national average by over ten percentage points. Employment growth increased further during the second half of the 1990s, two-thirds higher than regional and national averages, though this growth was concentrated during the year of 1997.
* the current method (ABI) for estimating employment is only available from 1995 onwards, to illustrate the long term trend data for pre-1995 employment, data from the previous method, the AES, has also been shown.
Source: Annual Employment Survey and Annual Business Inquiry
Eden's overwhelming specialism is in the primary sector, due to the importance of agriculture to the District.Eden also exhibits specialisation in consumer services, largely due to tourism, and construction. By contrast, the District has no notable advanced manufacturing and is under-represented in producer services, mainly due to the lack of a major urban centre. In absolute terms, public services and distribution comprise major parts of the Eden economy, though these shares are broadly in line with regional and national trends.
Reflecting the importance of agriculture and tourism, self-employment well above average in the District.
Similarly, part-time employment is more important than regionally or nationally, though does not match its significance to the County as a whole.
Eden Sector Trend
The diagram on the previous page provides an insight into the size, strength and recent performance of sector employment in the district. The performance of the sectors can be classified by the quadrant in which they fall.
Growth Sectors
Those in the top right quadrant represent strength sectors for the district, which are both growing(increasing employment between 1995-1999) and locally strong (in 1999, represent a higher proportion of the total employment in the district compared to the national average). The key sectors in this quadrant are:
- Other consumer services (2,000 employees)
- Building materials (400 employees)
- Construction (1,400 employees)
- Forest products (200 employees)
- Food & drink (1,000 employees)
- Extractive (200 employees)
- Welfare (800 employees)
The sectors in the top left quadrant are the emerging sectors, that have created jobs between 1995-1999 but currently represent a smaller proportion of total employment in the district than the national average for the sector. The key sectors in this quadrant are:
- Retail (2,000 employees)
- Wholesale (900 employees)
- Public services (1,100 employees)
- Higher education (300 employees)
- Primary & secondary education (1,000 employees)
- Further & adult education (200 employees)
- Producer services (1,000 employees)
- Knowledge (200 employees)
- Health (900 employees)
- Creative & cultural (200 employees)
Declining Sectors
The sectors in the bottom right quadrant are fading stars, which are locally strong but have experienced a fall in employment between 1995-1999. The sectors in this quadrant are:
- Tourism (2,300 employees)
- Transport (1,100 employees)
The sectors in the bottom left quadrant are relatively weak sectors that have experienced a fall in employment between 1995-1999 and represent a lower proportion of total employment in the district than the national average. The sectors in this quadrant are:
- Financial services (500 employees)
