The District's proximity to main urban centres such as Gloucester, Cheltenham and Bristol means that it attracts commuters and there is a net outflow of employment from the district. But there is also a strong local economy made up mainly of small businesses, 87% of which have under 25 employees and 71% under 10 employees.
According to the 1991 census 22% of men and 10% of women are self-employed. The attractive environment and quality of the local workforce is a key reason for businesses staying in the area. The unemployment rate as at July 2001 was 2.4%, which is the same as the county average and below the regional average of 2.5% or the national average of 3.6%.
Nationally the structure of employment is changing to reflect a continuing decline in manufacturing and engineering relative to increases in service sectors. Although Stroud district has suffered closures and losses in some larger manufacturing firms in recent years, it still retains a relatively high percentage of employment in this sector. Besides these industries, the area has a rich arts and crafts heritage attracting artists, media and arts and crafts based businesses.
Demographic Profile
Population - 109,300
Stroud urban catchment area - 50,000
Employees in employment - 37,000
Total workforce - 53,208
Net outflow of employees - 16,208
| Company size/ Structure (excl retailers) | No. of firms | % employees |
| 251 plus | 10 | 12 |
| 51 - 250 | 51 | 36 |
| 26 - 50 | 101 | 18 |
| 11 - 25 | 201 | 17 |
| 1 - 10 | 635 | 18 |
Population in employment by sector
Manufacturing - 33%
Public administration - 24%
Distribution/hotels - 22%
Banking/finance - 10%
Other services - 3%
Transport and communications - 4%
Construction - 4%
For other sources of research and information please contact:
County Research & Information Group
Population and socio economic profiles
Gloucestershire County Council
Environment Department
Gloucester GL1 2TH
Tel: 01452 425689
Gloucestershire Labour Market Information Unit
Employment and labour market information
Conway House
33-35 Worcester Street
Gloucester GL1 3AJ
Tel: 01452 509625
Business Information Service
Extensive resources including company reports, information directories, statistics, marketing, British Standards
Cheltenham Library
Clarence St
Cheltenham
Tel: 01242 532685
