Historically, Plymouth has:
Low skill, low wage roles
Low business density
Low job density
Less flexible working conditions
Low female wages and participation
High economic inactivity
These are creating imbalances in Plymouth’s economy.
On top of this, average wages in Plymouth are consistently behind, with the gap widening.
There are 3 groups of people that show in significant numbers, as struggling.
Those workers with caring responsibilities
Those workers with health challenges
Those workers from deprived backgrounds
We need to move to remove these obstacles.
Sectors and micro-business density
The gap between Plymouth, the South West and Great Britain is widening.
Sector balance in Plymouth
The sector balance in Plymouth underpins our low wage, low skill economy
The balance causes problems for people with caring responsibilities and health challenges
According to the Financial Times, sectors such as retail, healthcare, transport, accommodation and good and construction are most responsible for long terms sickness
The best and worst sectors for flexible working according to Working Families research published in October 2022:
How can we make Plymouth’s economy sustainable?
A sustainable economy is not only about being successful but one that breaks down barriers.
The economy needs to work for employees of today as well as future employees.
We need to think about making the economy work for Plymouth businesses today and the future businesses.
We recognise there are imbalances across Plymouth’s economy and the Plymouth Charter aims to address these.
For example:
Local buy in
Supporting businesses through collaboration and delivery
Climate changes needed for the future
If you want to find out more, please feel free to get in touch on plymouthcharter@plymouth.gov.uk.