Eden has experienced strong GVA growth over the last 10 years, with GVA in 2000 (estimated at 580m) more than 20% above that in 1990. Growth rates have exceeded those achieved by the County as whole and North West, and are only just below the UK figure of 22%.
Eden retained double-digit GVA growth during the recession of the early 1990s, when the wider Cumbrian economy was stagnating. The latter half of the 1990s has seen the District continue to grow above average rates.
Given relatively low productivity rates and GVA/capital (see below), it appears that this growth has been driven by a growth in the total volume of business activity, rather than by increased productivity or significant economic restructuring. The strong growth in population and employment support this view.
Despite Eden's strong growth rates, however, GVA per capita is well below national levels, though it just above the level achieved by the County as whole. This indicates that the absolute size of the District's economy is small, even taking into account its sparse population. This reflects the rural nature of Eden, and the dominance of relatively low value added sectors such as the tourism and agricultural sectors.
GVA per worker, a measure of labour productivity, is lower than that achieved across Cumbria; by the North West; and the significantly below the national rate.This provides further evidence of the dominance of low value added, labour intensive, business activity.
The change in the number of businesses registered for VAT in Eden has followed a similar trend to the County and wider region. However, whilst the District exceeded County and regional growth during the 1980s, the contraction in the business base after 1991 has been more marked in Eden than the North West, albeit less severe than Cumbria as a whole. By contrast, GB saw a recovery in the business stock following 1993.
The number of businesses registering for VAT for the first time as a proportion of the overall stock in Eden is well below average, being under half the regional and national level. This relatively low start-up rate partly explains the overall decline in the stock of businesses and probably reflects the District's lack of a major urban centre. Self-employment, by contrast, is nearly twice regional and national levels, largely due to itssimportance to the agricultural and tourism sectors in rural areas.
Eden is host to nearly a fifth of all Cumbria's VAT-registered businesses. Of these businesses, more than 85% are micro enterprises, with ten or fewer employees. As a consequence, the District has fewer larger businesses, with only seven enterprises of 200+ employees. This reflects the importance of the agricultural and tourism sectors to the District, which are dominated by SMEs, and the preponderance of self-employment, as well as the lack of urban or industrial centres to host larger firms.
Other points about businesses in Eden from the 2000 Cumbria Employer Survey:
- The District contains a high proportion of locally-based businesses, with 86% of employers having their head office within Cumbria
- Seventeen percent of employers experienced problems maintaining staff levels, with the District reporting the largest proportion of organisations taking on temporary or short-term staff over the previous year.
- Eden's employers were the least likely (51%) in Cumbria to provide some form of training for their workforce and reported the lowest use of NVQs in staff training and development.
