Area type
Metropolitan District
Population
183,391
GDP
£3.1 billion
Average salary
£33,310
Labour force
115,043
Job Density
0.63
View trend
View trend
View breakdown
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in St. Helens was worth an estimated £3.1 billion in 2020, according to figures published by the ONS. St. Helens's GDP growth between 2019 and 2020 was -7.0% per year. Compare GDP by area.
The Health industry is the largest in St. Helens based on the number of jobs, accounting for 16.5% of roles in the area.
2020 ONS figures suggest that there are 69,000 jobs in St. Helens, which has a working-age (aged 16-65) population of 115,043. The 2020 job density in St. Helens is 0.60, meaning there are 0.60 jobs per member of the St. Helens working-age population.
St. Helens had a mean average salary for full-time employees of £33,310 in 2022. St. Helens's unemployment rate is 1.7% as of 2022. Compare unemployment rate by area.
The 2020 labour force or working-age population in St. Helens is 115,043 or 62.7% of the total population.
In 2022, 98.3% of the labour market was recorded as employed, above the 94.8% average rate for England. Of those employed, 9.4% are self-employed, and 90.6% are employees.
The Annual Population Survey for 2021 published by the ONS reports the percentage of the St. Helens working-age (aged 16-64) population who have a degree or higher is 39.3%, which is below the 42.8% degree qualification rate for England.
Over 58% of the St. Helens working-age population have at least 2 A-levels (or equivalent), and 6% have no qualifications.
Qualifications classifications
Main page: St. Helens Salary
The average salary in St. Helens as of 2022 is £33,310. Between 2021 and 2022, average salaries fell by £5,110. Compare average salaries by area.
St. Helens's salary growth rate is -13.30% per year based on changes in average salary between 2021 and 2022, which is 13.30% lower than the average salary growth rate in St. Helens over the past 9 years.
Business data published by the ONS in 2021 show the most common job group in St. Helens is Administrative Occupations, accounting for 10% of all roles in the area. In England as a whole, the largest job group is Business & Public Service Assoc. Professionals.
The fastest-growing type of job in St. Helens is Protective Service Occupations, with roles increasing 183% between July 2021 and July 2022. In England, the fastest-growing type of role is Corporate Managers And Directors.
Occupation | Number | Percentage | CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative Occupations | 8,900 | 10.4% | 61.8% |
| Science, Research, Engineering And Technology Profs | 7,200 | 8.4% | 56.5% |
| Elementary Administration & Service Occs | 5,900 | 6.9% | -29.8% |
| Caring Personal Service Occupations | 5,700 | 6.6% | -3.4% |
| Business & Public Service Assoc. Professionals | 5,600 | 6.5% | 1.8% |
There was a 11% increase in roles between 2020 and 2021. In England as a whole, there was a 3% decrease.
Based on the total number of jobs, the largest industry in St. Helens is Health. Other major industries include Retail, Transport & Storage, Business Administration & Support Services, which represents over 10% of roles in St. Helens.
Financial & Insurance companies make up 1% of the St. Helens economy that's lower than the average for England as a whole (~3%).
1% of the total jobs in St. Helens are in Information and Communication, one of the key sectors for the future, below the 5% of jobs in England as a whole.
Industry | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Health | 11,000 | 16.5% |
| Transport & Storage | 8,000 | 12.0% |
| Retail | 7,000 | 10.5% |
| Business Administration & Support Services | 7,000 | 10.5% |
| Accommodation & Food Services | 5,000 | 7.5% |
The fastest-growing industry in St. Helens is Business Administration & Support Services, with jobs in the sector increasing 40% between 2020 and 2021 from 5,000 to 7,000. In England more broadly the fastest-growing industry is Healthcare.
The industry with the biggest decline in St. Helens between 2020 and 2021 was Mining, quarrying & utilities, which saw an 20% decrease in roles, going from 500 to 400. In England more broadly the industry with the biggest year on year decline was Arts, entertainment & recreation, with roles decreasing by 8%.
The Information and communication industry includes many of the top companies of the future. In St. Helens, the number of roles in this sector has fallen by 0% over the past year, below the 1% annual increase seen in England.
St. Helens Demographics
St. Helens Crime
Rental Market of St. Helens
2022 UK Business Count data published by the ONS show there are 15 large businesses in St. Helens, making up 0.3% of total businesses - in England, 0.4% of businesses are large. A large business is defined as having over 250 employees.
There are 100 medium-sized businesses based in St. Helens, making up 2.0% of total businesses - in England, 1.5% of businesses are medium-sized. A medium-sized business is defined as having between 50 and 249 employees.
There are 475 small businesses based in St. Helens, making up 9.5% of total businesses - in England, 8.3% of businesses are small. A small business is defined as having between 10 and 49 employees.
St. Helens's unemployment rate is 1.7% that's 3% lower than the average unemployment rate for England as a whole. Unemployment rates are the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the working-age population.
The main group within the unemployment population is Long-term Sick, representing 35.5% of the unemployed population.
Secondary classifications include groups: student, looking after family, retired, all of which represent over 10% of the unemployed population.
In England as a whole, students are the main group within the unemployed population, accounting for 28.9% of the unemployed population.
Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2022. Data sources: ONS Local statistics