56% of the 16+ population is economically active.
Cornwall has a high level of self-employed, and part time workers.
60% of people in employment work in wholesale, retail and motors, Health and social work, Construction, Accommodation and food services, and Education
- The population of Cornwall aged 16 and over was 477,425, with 55.8% being economically active and 44.2% being economically inactive.
- Cornwall had a lower share of economically active people compared to the England and Wales average. Cornwall had a higher share of economically inactive people.
- Of the economically active people, 93% were employed, with 71% being employees and 22% being self-employed.
- Self-employment accounted for 23.6% of all employed people in Cornwall. This was higher than the average of 17.1% across England and Wales.
- A large portion of the employed people in Cornwall were part-time employees at 34.5%. Of the 174 local authorities, Cornwall was ranked third below Torbay and the Isle of Wight in terms of percentage of employed part-time workers.
- The unemployment rate in Cornwall was lower than the England and Wales average.
- The census shows that 46.7% of the population aged 16 and over were not in employment. This is higher than the England and Wales average due to a higher proportion of older people in the population.
- There were 8,277 people classified as economically active students in Cornwall, with 74.7% of them being employed and 25.3% unemployed. The majority of these employed students were part-time employees, making up 85.8% of the total.
- The largest sectors in Cornwall in 2021 were Wholesale, retail and motors, Health and social work, Construction, Accommodation and food services, and Education. These sectors made up 60% of all employment.
- There have been a number of changes in the structure of employment by sector between 2011 and 2021. Overall, while ten declined in size, eight sectors grew.
- The biggest declines in numerical terms were Manufacturing minus 2,889 (-15%), and Public admin etc, minus 1,490 (-9.6%). The largest increases were in Health & social work 6,778 (+20.5%), followed by Construction plus 5,298 (+24.1%).
Please see the Labour Market ONS summary release for more information.