Area type
Metropolitan District
Population
264,407
GDP
£5.9 billion
Average salary
£30,712
Labour force
163,541
Job Density
0.73
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The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Wolverhampton was worth an estimated £5.9 billion in 2019, according to figures published by the ONS. Wolverhampton's GDP growth between 2018 and 2019 was 2.6% per year. Compare GDP by area.
The Health industry is the largest in Wolverhampton based on the number of jobs, accounting for 19.0% of roles in the area.
2019 ONS figures suggest that there are 119,000 jobs in Wolverhampton, which has a working-age (aged 16-65) population of 163,541. The 2019 job density in Wolverhampton is 0.73, meaning there are 0.73 jobs per member of the Wolverhampton working-age population.
Wolverhampton had a mean average salary for full-time employees of £30,712 in 2021. Wolverhampton's unemployment rate is 5.7% as of 2021. Compare unemployment rate by area.
The 2019 labour force or working-age population in Wolverhampton is 163,541 or 61.9% of the total population.
In 2021, 94.3% of the labour market was recorded as employed, below the 94.8% average rate for England. Of those employed, 9.8% are self-employed, and 90.2% are employees.
The Annual Population Survey for 2020 published by the ONS reports the percentage of the Wolverhampton working-age (aged 16-64) population who have a degree or higher is 31.6%, which is below the 42.8% degree qualification rate for England.
Over 48% of the Wolverhampton working-age population have at least 2 A-levels (or equivalent), and 12% have no qualifications.
Qualifications classifications
Main page: Wolverhampton Salary
The average salary in Wolverhampton as of 2021 is £30,712. Between 2020 and 2021, average salaries fell by £541. Compare average salaries by area.
Wolverhampton's salary growth rate is -1.73% per year based on changes in average salary between 2020 and 2021, which is 1.73% lower than the average salary growth rate in Wolverhampton over the past 9 years.
Business data published by the ONS in 2020 show the most common job group in Wolverhampton is Caring Personal Service Occupations, accounting for 11% 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 Wolverhampton is Leisure, Travel And Related Personal Service Occs, with roles increasing 146% between July 2020 and July 2021. In England, the fastest-growing type of role is Corporate Managers And Directors.
Occupation | Number | Percentage | CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caring Personal Service Occupations | 13,100 | 11.0% | 13.9% |
| Administrative Occupations | 11,000 | 9.3% | 11.1% |
| Business & Public Service Assoc. Professionals | 9,100 | 7.7% | 71.7% |
| Elementary Administration & Service Occs | 9,000 | 7.6% | -26.2% |
| Transport & Mobile Machine Drivers/operatives | 8,300 | 7.0% | 48.2% |
There was a 0% decrease in roles between 2019 and 2020. In England as a whole, there was a 2% decrease.
Based on the total number of jobs, the largest industry in Wolverhampton is Health. Other major industries include Manufacturing, Education, which represents over 10% of roles in Wolverhampton.
Financial & Insurance companies make up 3% of the Wolverhampton economy that's higher than the average for England as a whole (~3%).
2% of the total jobs in Wolverhampton 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 | 20,000 | 19.0% |
| Manufacturing | 12,000 | 11.4% |
| Education | 11,000 | 10.5% |
| Retail | 10,000 | 9.5% |
| Wholesale | 6,000 | 5.7% |
The fastest-growing industry in Wolverhampton is Information & Communication, with jobs in the sector increasing 14% between 2019 and 2020 from 1,750 to 2,000. In England more broadly the fastest-growing industry is Healthcare.
The industry with the biggest decline in Wolverhampton between 2019 and 2020 was Mining, quarrying & utilities, which saw an 29% decrease in roles, going from 1,750 to 1,250. 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 Wolverhampton, the number of roles in this sector has risen by 14% over the past year, above the 1% annual increase seen in England.
Wolverhampton Demographics
Wolverhampton Crime
Rental Market of Wolverhampton
2021 UK Business Count data published by the ONS show there are 40 large businesses in Wolverhampton, making up 0.5% of total businesses - in England, 0.4% of businesses are large. A large business is defined as having over 250 employees.
There are 155 medium-sized businesses based in Wolverhampton, 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 735 small businesses based in Wolverhampton, 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.
Wolverhampton's unemployment rate is 5.7% that's 1% higher 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 Looking After Family, representing 25.8% of the unemployed population.
Secondary classifications include groups: student, temporary sick, long-term sick, other, 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 2021. Data sources: ONS Local statistics