Annex A
Local Landscape
Source: Business Register and Employment Survey, 2020 (published 2021), 2020 SAP boundaries
Local Landscape - Summary
Norfolk and Suffolk has an ageing population, with 44% of the workforce over 50 years old, in comparison to 38% across
England on average.
When comparing the area’s employment by sector with both England and Comparator LEPs (see Annex B), the main area
of discrepancy in the region is a notable lack of employment within the Professional, Scientific & Technical and
Information & Communication sectors (6% and 2% respectively, relative to 9% and 5% nationally,)
The employment rate in Norfolk and Suffolk has been consistently above the national level since 2005.
However, between 2004 to 2018 the local GVA has been roughly £3/£4 less per hour worked than the UK trend.
Furthermore, the median gross weekly wages for full-time workers in Norfolk and Suffolk (both for the workplace and
residents) has been consistently tracked below the national trend since 2014.
EMSI Job Postings data for Norfolk and Suffolk indicates that the hardest hit industries to vacancies as a result of COVID-
19 were Accommodation & Food (48% decrease), Financial & Insurance (40% decrease), Information &
Communication (40% decrease) and Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (-37% decrease).
Whilst a decrease in the employment share of these sectors was anticipated, particularly within Accommodation &
Food and Arts, Entertainment & Recreation the government support schemes appear to have hopefully minimised
any long-term impact on the Norfolk & Suffolk economy.
There were several local interventions focused on getting people back into employment following redundancy, including
Work Well Suffolk and a range of ESIF projects across the region (including the job support programme and the
community grant scheme).
When comparing Norfolk and Suffolk with the area’s Comparator LEPs most of the local landscape core indicators are of
similar value.
Two stand out of areas of focus for Norfolk and Suffolk are “median wages weekly wage for full-time workers” and the
region’s ageing population.
Whilst the gap in GVA per hour work between Norfolk and Suffolk and the Comparator LEPs appears to have been
closed, there is still a clear gap in median wages, both for residents and in the workplace.
Source: Business Register and Employment Survey, 2020 (published 2021), 2020 SAP boundaries
Employment by sector:
The two largest sectors of employment in Norfolk and Suffolk are the health sector and the retail sector, making up
14% and 11% of the workforce, respectively.
This is roughly the same as the national average, where they each contribute 13% and 9% respectively.
New Anglia LEP’s local industrial strategy outlines three strategic opportunities: Clean Energy, Agri-food and ICT &
Digital Creative.
Agri-food can be roughly mapped to “Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing” plus “Accommodation & Food services”, which
contribute 4% and 8% of the total employment of Norfolk and Suffolk.
This is a clear strength of Norfolk & Suffolk, with these sectors only contributing 8% combined nationally.
However, ICT & Digital Creative is more of a cause for concern when mapped against “Information & Communication”,
with the sector making up 2% of the area’s employment, whilst it represents 5% nationally and 3% on average across
the area’s Comparator LEPs.
The other main area of discrepancy between Norfolk and Suffolk and the national average is the notable lack of
employment within the Professional, Scientific & Technical sector (6%), relative to the national average (9%).
This is also seen when comparing Norfolk and Suffolk with the area’s Comparator LEPs, with the average employment
in the Professional, Scientific & Technical sector across the Comparator LEPs being 8%.
EMSI Job Postings data for Norfolk and Suffolk indicates that the hardest hit industries to vacancies as a result of
COVID-19 were Accommodation & Food (48% decrease), Financial & Insurance (40% decrease), Information &
Communication (40% decrease) and Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (-37% decrease).
Whilst a decrease in the employment share of these sectors was anticipated, particularly within Accommodation &
Food and Arts, Entertainment & Recreation, the government support schemes appear to have hopefully minimized
any long-term impact on the Norfolk & Suffolk economy.