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LOCAL
DATA
Look out for updated data on Vacancies.
Remember, this section includes many web links to useful sources of information. Clicking on green text will link you to part of the Labour Market Focus website which supports this e-bulletin, and clicking on blue text will take you to an external website. VACANCIES
The following are a selection of vacancies that were available at
the time of press.
Supermarket giant Asda have a
number of management opportunities within Milton
Keynes. The store currently
seek Team Leaders and Department Managers. More information
can be gained by visiting http://www.asda.jobs
Cleaners are required at Stantonbury Campus in
Milton Keynes for 2 hours a day at 15.00 or 15.30
Monday to Friday. More information is available
from Linda Bosworth on 01908 324400
Hotel chain Hilton have a number of vacancies in
Milton Keynes. Opportunities include; Business Centre
Administrator, Reservations Agent, Kitchen Porter,
Conference and Banqueting Sales Manager, Chef de
Partie, Fitness Coach and Food and Beverage Assistants.
Application forms are available on 01908 694433 or
email viv.risby@hilton.com
Powergen require Customer Service Specialists in
Bedford. Application forms are available on 020 7406
5790 and quoting 45440.
HBOS Financial Services are looking to recruit
Customer Service staff to their Aylesbury Operation.
Further details can be accessed through http://www.hbosbrightfutures.co.uk
Recruitment Drive for Police Community Safety Officers
Thames Valley Police is having a recruitment drive
to recruit around 500 extra Police Community Support
Officers (PCSOs) by 2008. PCSOs focus on low level
crime and antisocial behaviour. They do not have full
police power but can issue fines, seize alcohol and
tobacco and disperse groups. There are currently 40
PCSOs in Bucks, but the recruitment campaign will hopefully
make people more aware of them and allow them to make
a difference to communities and neighbourhoods. For
information on open days or to find out more about
becoming a PCSO visit http://www.rewardingrole.co.uk or call the national recruitment hotline on 0845 600
0925 for an application pack.
The Open University is a major employer within Milton
Keynes and there are always a number of vacancies
advertised in the weekly newspapers. More information
is available on http://www.open.ac.uk/ or telephone
01908 653225
Milton Keynes Council regularly advertises a number
of jobs in a variety of divisions on a weekly basis.
More information is available on http://www.theplacetobe.info or 01908 253344 or 01908 253462
Bedfordshire County Council regularly advertises
for vacancies in a variety of departments. Further
information is available on 01234 276655.
Oxfordshire County Council are also a large local
employer, vacancies can be accessed through http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk
Thames Recruitment requires experienced
drivers with either a HGV I, HGV II, or 7.5 tonne
licence.
For long or short term vacancies in London and the
South East click
here.
First Group plc runs both train
and bus services in the South East region and beyond.
For further information about careers and job opportunities,
see http://www.firstgroup.com/careers_firstop.php
According to the Office of National Statistics,
VAT registration data is the best official guide
to the number of businesses, and the pattern of business
start-ups and closures across the UK and in each
industry.
In MKOB, the total stocks
of VAT registered businesses numbered 55,245 (ONS
NOMIS): 7,520 in Milton Keynes;
24,130 in Oxfordshire; and 23, 595 in Buckinghamshire. ‘Total
stocks’ provides an indicator of the size of
the business population. Since over 99 per cent of
registered enterprises employ fewer than 50 people,
it is also a useful indicator of the small business
population.
The chart below shows the change in VAT registrations
for the year ending 2005 (latest data) for MKOB by
broad industrial sector. Change in VAT registrations
shows the net change (registrations minus de-registrations
in the calendar year).
Clearly, all Local Authority areas within MKOB
show the greatest net increases in VAT registered
businesses within the Real Estate, Renting and
Business Activities sector. Between the end of
2004 and the end of 2005, the total number of VAT
registered Real Estate, Renting and Business Activities
businesses rose by 205 in Oxfordshire, by 150 in
Buckinghamshire and by 70 in Milton Keynes. Although
on a smaller scale, all areas of MKOB saw an increase
in the numbers of VAT registrations in the Construction
sector, and in Wholesale, Retail & Repairs.
Net decreases in the total stock of VAT registered
businesses can be seen in Manufacturing (unchanged
in Milton Keynes, down by 15 in Oxfordshire and
by 60 in Buckinghamshire). Buckinghamshire also
saw sizable net decreases in the total number of
VAT registrations within Transport, Storage & Communications,
and within the Public Administration, and Other
Community, Social and Personal Services sector.
For
more regional data on VAT registrations click
here.
Vacancies (Jobcentre Plus) by occupation are shown in the graph below for Great Britain and the South East. In total, in January 2008 the South East had over 23,834 vacancies, and there were almost 194,349 in Great Britain as a whole. By the far the highest proportion of vacancies notified with Jobcentre Plus are in Elementary Occupations.
Source: ONS, NOMIS
Vacancies by occupation are broken down in the graph below for the local authority areas of MKOB.
Source: ONS, NOMIS
By far the greatest proportion of vacancies notified in the region during January was Elementary Occupations (25.1%). However, these roles represented a greater proportion of vacancies in both Oxfordshire (28.6%) and Buckinghamshire (27.8%).
Other significant variations from the regional breakdown of vacancies by occupation for local authority areas in MKOB include:
Lower than average proportions of vacancies in Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire in Skilled Trade Occupations (12.5% and 11.5% respectively), but lower than average proportions in Oxfordshire (9.1%).
A higher than average proportion of vacancies in Oxfordshire in Managers and Senior Official roles (6.9%).
A much higher than average proportion of Sales and Customer Service Occupations vacancies Milton Keynes (27.7%).
A lower than average proportion of vacancies in Milton Keynes (6.1%) and Oxfordshire (8.2%) in Administrative and Secretarial Occupations.
The structure of employment in MKOB is remarkably similar to that of the South East region as whole.
The graph below shows that:
78.7% of the working age population in MKOB, and 78.1% of those across the South East is employed in some form of service industry, compared with 76.2% in Great Britain as a whole.
18.9% of the MKOB working age population in employment is employed in the Distribution, Hotels and Restaurants industry sector which is similar to the South East figure of 18.4%.
Similarly, almost one in five (19.1%) of MKOB’s working age employees are employed in the Banking, Financial and Insurance sector, compared with 18.7% in the South East and 15.9% nationally.
However, only 6.2% of MKOB employees work in Construction, compared with 7.8% in the South East and 8.15 in Great Britain as a whole.
(Source: ONS, NOMIS, Annual Population Survey, latest data, January 2006 to December 2006)
New figures from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings have been released. Gross annual earnings for full-time workers vary very little across Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes and Oxfordshire. The chart below shows that average annual earnings in Buckinghamshire (£26,052); Milton Keynes (£26,026); and Oxfordshire (£25,998), are higher than the national and regional averages (£24,402 and £25,547 respectively). Click here to visit the website for more information. Source – ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2007 (latest data)
The chart below compares male and female full-time average annual earnings for Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes and Oxfordshire. Across all three areas male full-time workers earn more than female full-time workers. The differential between the earnings of the two groups is smallest in Oxfordshire where women earn on average £5,741 less than men annually. In Buckinghamshire there is a gender pay gap of £7,437 and in Milton Keynes £8,957. These are both greater than the national gender pay gap of £6,070 and the South East gap (£7,244).
Source – ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2006 (latest data)
The most recent figures for the Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) Claimant Count have been released by NOMIS, the Office of National Statistics.
The claimant count records the number of people claiming JSA and National Insurance credits at Job Centre Plus local offices. Although the figures are not an official measure of unemployment, they are the only indicative statistics available for smaller scale areas.
For information, working age is defined as 16-64 for males and 16-60 for females, and working age population figures are derived from mid-year population estimates which are compatible with the 2001 Census.
The graph below highlights that within MKOB as a whole, 1.2% of working age population are claiming JSA. Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire have the lowest figure of 1.0%, whilst Milton Keynes has the highest with 2.1%
Source – ONS, JSA Claimant Counts-Rates and Proportions July 2007
The actual number of claimants of working age population are as follows:
New information on NVQ levels of the working age population have been released from the Annual Population Survey. Four out of five (82.7%) people of working age in the South East have at least a level one qualification. The figures indicate that there are 865,300 people of working age in the South East that do not have at least an NVQ level one qualification.
The information shows that in Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire:
82.7% of the working age population are qualified to at least NVQ level one, exactly in line with the South East (82.7%).
Higher percentage at NVQ level 2 in Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire than for the South East – 68.7% with level 2 in Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire compared to 68% at level 2 for the South East
Higher percentage at NVQ level 3 in MKOB than for the South East - 51.4% with at least level 3 in Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire compared to 49.4% at level 3 for the South East
Higher percentage at NVQ level 4 in the South East than for Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire –29.5% at level 4 for the South East compared to 30.5% with level 4 in Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire .
Source: ONS, Annual Population Survey Jan – Dec 2006 (latest data).
The most recent figures for the estimated resident population have been released. The estimated resident population of an area includes all people who usually live there, whatever their nationality. Students are taken to be resident at their term time address. The population estimates are based on the Census of Population (2001) and calculated annually – the previous years’ population is ‘aged on’ by one year, with births added and deaths removed. There is also an adjustment for net migration. This adjustment is the most difficult to estimate accurately, and can affect some areas with high migration more than others.
The population of Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire is estimated at 1,344,000. The population for the South East is estimated at 8,237,800; 50,762,900 for England; and almost 59 million for Great Britain (ONS, August 2007). These estimates suggest that the region’s population has increased by 73,600 in twelve months, an increase of 0.9%. For more information on the South East estimates please see Regional Data.
The graphs below show the population estimates for the local authority districts in Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.
Source – ONS, Mid-year population estimates June 2006 (latest data)
Source – ONS, Mid-year population estimates June 2006 (latest data)
The Annual Business Inquiry is
a business survey that collects employment and financial
information. The information on employee figures
was found to be more accurate than the Annual Employment
Survey.
The ABI is a sample survey. The exercise surveys,
on average 78,000 reporting units. The survey form
asks for the total number of employee jobs over the
whole business. These jobs are then apportioned over
the organisation’s known sites to generate
sub-national data.
The following table provides an indication of the
number of employees by industrial sector in Milton
Keynes, Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire.
ABI – Numbers of Employees by Industrial Sector – Milton
Keynes, Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire
Industry
Numbers
Agriculture and Fishing (SIC A,B)
2,127
Energy and water (SIC C,E)
1,880
Manufacturing (SIC D)
91,737
Construction (SIC F)
24,956
Distribution, hotels and restaurants (SIC G,H)
170,245
Transport and communications (SIC I)
3o,189
Banking, finance and insurance, etc (SIC J,K)
167,099
Public administration, education & health
(SIC L,M,N)
126,277
Other services (SIC O,P,Q)
33,748
Source: ABI (2005– latest
data) ONS: NOMIS
The distribution of employment
across the sectors in Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire
and the South East as a whole is provided in the
chart below.
Source: ABI (2005– latest data)
ONS: NOMIS
The distribution of employees
across industries in Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire
is broadly similar to that of the South East as a
whole.
The following chart shows comparative data between
the Local Authority areas of Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire.
The percentages are a percentage of all employees
in all sectors.
Source: ABI (2005– latest data)
ONS: NOMIS
The ABI employee data show that
by far the greatest concentrations proportionally
of jobs in Public Administration, Education and Health
in MKOB are in Oxford: perhaps unsurprisingly for
a city with such strong academic provision.
Across MKOB as a whole, Distribution, Hotels and
Restaurants accounts for a quarter of all employees.
Proportionately more jobs in Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire,
and proportionately fewer jobs in Oxfordshire are
in this industry.
The proportional importance of Banking, Finance and
Insurance in the labour markets of MKOB varies slightly
between districts: with slight dominance in Milton
Keynes and Buckinghamshire.
The greatest concentrations proportionately of manufacturing
jobs in MKOB are based in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.
These wide data are of use for advice to both adults
and young people as a broad descriptor of which sectors
offer the most employment in the region.
