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Workforce Summary

One million people live in 15 minutes’ drive from the Widnes and Runcorn area, and five million people live within a 25-mile radius of the area.

Halton has an average wage of £21,000, approximately £4,000 below the UK average, and employment has remained relatively stable over the past ten years. Halton’s employment is focused around knowledge based and technology services, with 30% of the population employed in knowledge-driven sectors compared to a regional average of 20%.

Approximately 31% of the working population are educated to NVQ level 3 or above. The average age in Halton is 38, which puts the borough in the lowest 20% of counties in the country in terms of age.
Unemployment in the region remains high, at 5.3%, providing a wide base of work-capable individuals actively seeking work.

Halton Workforce Figures from the Office of National Statistics will give you a more comprehensive overview of the local workforce in Halton.

Nature and structure of the labour force, demographics

The population of Halton (ONS Annual Survey 2010):        

• 119,300 (mid-10)        
• Increase on the previous year: 600 (0.47%)
• Increase over the last 8 years: 1,200 (1.01%)
• Median age: 39.5 years        
• Mode quinary age group: 45-49        
• Split 48.4% male / 51.5% female        
• Population density: 1,508 persons per sq km
• Estimated daytime population: 128,519 (119,300 + 2,400 net in-commuters + 6,819 day and overnight visitors)

Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2010 (ONS)

• Average weekly hours worked by men: 39.6
• Average weekly hours worked by women: 29.9
• Economically Active:
• Economically Inactive:

Education and Qualification

Key Statistics:

• 95.2% of pupils in Halton achieved 5 GCSE passes - higher than the national average of 92.9% (2010)
• Cronton Sixth Form College has a 99.2% A-Level pass rate (2010)
• Riverside College has a 100% vocational pass rate (2010)
• The Higher Education at Riverside College was 98% in 2011, and received ‘Outstanding’ from Ofsted in 2009.
• 1,000 full time and 1,500 part-time students undertake vocational or academic courses at the new £4.5 million Runcorn Campus.

Riverside College has a business centre and offers a wide range of apprenticeships and NVQ, BTEC, Diploma and Degree courses. Subjects serve a wide range of industries that are already strong in the area, including Manufacturing Technology, Mechanical Technology, Business and Management, Construction, Engineering, IT, and many more. Additionally, the Business Development division of Halton College collaborates with local companies on core training programmes.

For more information, see Universities and Research

Availability

Halton businesses have access to a local population of 118,500 and five million people within a 25-mile radius. Halton is well positioned amid one of the highest concentrations of top further education and higher education establishments in the country meaning that Halton based-companies can tap into a talent pool of almost 235,000 students on certificated programmes and over 53,000 graduates in the Northwest region every year. Also, the unemployment rate is higher than the national average allowing businesses to find and retain staff quickly.

Labour Costs

Full time average gross weekly earnings 2010

Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2010 (ONS)

​Halton is a popular choice for investors and employers because, as this table shows, average wages are lower in Halton than in surrounding population centres. Average weekly earnings in Halton are approximately £55 lower than in Warrington – an average saving of £2,860 per employee per year.

A company based in Manchester with ten employees could save nearly £18,000 a year in workforce costs by relocating to Halton – and that’s without the reduced costs of property. These are key reasons why many companies are choosing to locate and expand in Halton over surrounding cities.

Training and Recruitment Initiatives

Comprehensive support and financial aid is available businesses in the area to help them improve and develop their staff. Enhanced packages are offered to employers taking on and training individuals who were unemployed.
For more information, see Halton SMART Observatory.