Rural Economic Bulletin for England, June 2017
Updated 4 October 2021
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In England, 9.3 million people (17% of the population) live in rural areas; 45.5 million (83%) live in urban areas (Source: ONS 2015 mid-year population estimates).
Presented below are the most current data available for a selection of economic indicators for rural and urban areas that are released on a quarterly basis. Timescales are different across the various datasets.
The table below compares the most recent quarter to the previous quarter.
Later sections present annual comparisons for the most recent quarter.
| Quarterly change | Rural | Urban |
|---|---|---|
| House prices (average sale price) Q3 2016 to Q4 2016 |
£308,900 ▲1.4% |
£285,800 ▲1.6% |
| Percentage unemployed (aged 16 and over seeking work) Q4 2016 to Q1 2017 |
2.6% ▼ from 2.7% |
5.0% ◄► from 5.0% |
| Claimant count (percentage of working age population on Jobseeker’s Allowance) Q4 2016 to Q1 2017 |
0.5% ▲ from 0.4% |
1.4% ▲ from 1.3% |
| Redundancies (per 1000 workers) Q4 2016 to Q1 2017 |
3.8 ▼ from 5.2 |
3.6 ▼ from 4.6 |
House prices
The average house sale price increased by 5.0% in rural areas and 7.0% in urban areas between Q4 2015 and Q4 2016.
Average prices in rural areas have been consistently above the average found in urban areas (by 8% in Q4 2016).
In Q4 2016 average house prices in rural town and fringe areas were lower than the average found in urban areas (by 3%), while average house prices in rural village and hamlet areas were 19% higher.
Average sale price of houses: Q4 2015 to Q4 20161
| Category | Q4 2015 | Q4 2016 | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rural | £294,200 | £308,900 | 5.0%▲ |
| of which Rural town & fringe | £262,400 | £278,000 | 5.9%▲ |
| of which Rural village & hamlet | £327,400 | £341,100 | 4.2%▲ |
| Urban | £267,000 | £285,800 | 7.0%▲ |
| England | £271,800 | £289,800 | 6.6%▲ |
Table notes
Source: ONS small area house price statistics
(1) Change is calculated using unrounded figures whereas prices are shown rounded to the nearest £100.
Average house prices (£ thousands), Q1 2007 to Q4 2016
Average house prices (£ thousands), Q1 2007 to Q4 2020
Chart notes
Source: ONS house price statistics for small areas
Economic activity
Rural employment is now shown as a percentage of people aged 16 to 64 in line with other standard indicators of employment. It increased by 1.6 percentage point, and was 5.3 percentage points above urban areas in Q1 2017.
Unemployment (as a percentage of those aged 16 and over) decreased by 0.9 percentage points in rural areas and was 2.4 percentage points below urban areas in Q1 2017.
The inactivity rate (unemployed or not in employment) in rural areas decreased by 0.1 percentage points, it decreased by 0.1 percentage point in urban areas also.
Within inactivity, the retirement rate in rural areas increased by 0.7 percentage points, it increased by 0.1 percentage points in urban areas.
Percentage of people economically active and inactive: Q1 2016 to Q1 20171
| Status | Rural2 Q1 2016 | Rural 2 Q1 2017 | Urban2 Q1 2016 | Urban2Q1 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employed3 | 77.7 | 79.4 ▲ | 73.7 | 74.1 ▲ |
| Unemployed4 | 3.5 | 2.6 ▼ | 5.3 | 5.0 ▼ |
| Inactive | 38.8 | 38.7 ▼ | 35.7 | 35.6 ▼ |
| of which Inactive retired | 27.1 | 27.9 ▲ | 19.2 | 19.3 ▲ |
Table notes:
Source: ONS (Labour Force Survey, not seasonally adjusted).
(1) Percentage changes given in the text below are based on unrounded figures and therefore may not agree exactly with the figures presented in the table above.
(2) According to the Rural-Urban Classification 2011.
(3) As a percentage of people aged 16 to 64bringing this figure in line with other publications where employment rate is shown as percentage of people aged 16 to 64.
(4) As a percentage of people aged 16 and over who are economically active (in or seeking work).
Percentage employed, Q1 2007 to Q1 2017
Percentage employed, Q1 2007 to Q2 2021
Chart notes:
Source: ONS (Labour Force Survey).
Dashed line: 2001 Rural-Urban Classification (RUC) applied up to Q4 2013; 2011 RUC applied from Q1 2014; some areas may have changed category between RUC versions.
Claimant count
Claimant count figures prior to the most recent quarter have been subject to revision owing to processing anomalies that have come to light in the geographical attribution of the data. The effect on the reported percentages has been negligible but total reported claimants have been overstated.
Between Q1 2016 and Q1 2017, the percentage of the working age population claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance decreased by 0.1 percentage points in rural areas and by 0.3 percentage points in urban areas.
Jobseeker’s allowance claimants as a percentage of the working age population:
Q1 2016 to Q1 2017
| Category1 | Q1 2016Claimants | Q1 2016Per cent2 | Q1 2017Claimants | Q1 2017Per cent2 | Annual percentagepoint change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rural | 37,500 | 0.6 | 31,000 | 0.5 | 0.1▼ |
| of which Rural town & fringe | 25,700 | 0.8 | 20,600 | 0.7 | 0.2▼ |
| of which Rural village & hamlet | 11,800 | 0.4 | 10,500 | 0.3 | 0.0◄► |
| Urban | 473,200 | 1.7 | 379,300 | 1.4 | 0.3▼ |
| England | 510,700 | 1.5 | 410,300 | 1.2 | 0.3▼ |
Table notes:
Source: ONS Jobseeker’s Allowance data (via Nomis) and Defra..
Does not include people claiming Universal Credit.
(1) Using the Lower-Layer Super Output Area classification 2011.
(2) The number of claimants of Jobseeker’s Allowance as a percentage of the working age population.
Claimants of Jobseeker’s Allowance as a percentage of the working age population, Q1 2007 to Q1 2017
Claimants of Jobseeker’s Allowance as a percentage of the working age population, Q1 2007 to Q2 2021
Chart notes
Sources: ONS Jobseeker’s Allowance data (via Nomis) and Defra.
Does not include people claiming Universal Credit.
For further information please see the article Jobseeker’s Allowance, Universal Credit and the Claimant Count Changes to the Measurement of the Claimant Count
Dashed line: 2001 Lower-Layer Super Output Area (LSOA) classification applied up to Q2 2014; 2011 LSOA classification from Q3 2014.
Redundancies
In Q1 2017 15,000 people living in rural areas were made redundant, 2,000 less than a year earlier in Q1 2016.
The redundancy rate in rural areas decreased from 4.6 to 3.8 redundancies per 1,000 workers between Q1 2016 and Q1 2017, in urban areas the rate decreased from 3.8 to 3.6 redundancies per 1,000 workers.
Count of redundancies and rates1 per 1000 workers
| Category2 | Q1 2016Count | Q1 2016Rate1 | Q1 2017Count | Q1 2017Rate1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rural | 17,000 | 4.6 | 15,000 | 3.8 |
| Urban | 70,000 | 3.8 | 68,000 | 3.6 |
| England | 87,000 | 3.9 | 83,000 | 3.6 |
Table notes:
Source: ONS (Labour Force Survey).
(1) Ratio of the number of workers (aged 16 and over) made redundant for the given quarter to the number of employees (aged 16 and over) in the previous quarter multiplied by 1000, based on location of residence.
(2) 2001 Rural-Urban Classification (RUC) applied up to Q3 2015, 2011 RUC from Q4 2015.
Count of redundancies and rates1 per 1000 workers, split by sector, Q1 2017
| Sector | Rural2Count | Rural2Rate1 | Urban2Count | Urban2Rate1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture, fishing, energy & water | * | * | * | * |
| Manufacturing industries | 4,000 | 9.4 | 13,000 | 6.5 |
| Construction | * | * | 3,000 | 3.0 |
| Distribution, hotels and restaurants | * | * | 14,000 | 3.8 |
| Transport and communication | * | * | 3,000 | 2.2 |
| Finance and business services | 4,000 | 6.3 | 20,000 | 5.5 |
| Education, health and public admin | 3,000 | 2.3 | 8,000 | 1.3 |
| Other services | * | * | * | * |
| All industries | 15,000 | 3.8 | 68,000 | 3.6 |
Table notes:
Source: ONS (Labour Force Survey).
(1) Ratio of the number of workers (aged 16 and over) made redundant for the given quarter to the number of employees in the previous quarter multiplied by 1000, based on location of residence rather than workplace.
(2) According to the Rural-Urban Classification 2011.
(*) Data suppressed to prevent disclosure.
(-) Count value less than 1000
Redundancies per 1000 employees, Q1 2007 to Q1 2017
Percentage of the working age population claiming Universal Credit or Job Seeker’s Allowance whilst being required to search for work by Local Authority Classification, in England, Jan 2020 – Aug 2021
Chart notes:
Source: ONS (Labour Force Survey).
Dashed line: 2001 Rural-Urban Classification (RUC) applied up to Q3 2015, 2011 RUC from Q4 2015.
Insolvencies
Please see the June 2015 edition of the bulletin for the latest available data on business insolvencies.
We have been unable to include an updated insolvencies indicator in this bulletin. We are currently investigating alternative options for an insolvencies indicator and will include this in a future edition of the bulletin.
Further information
Some figures are liable to revision in subsequent quarters and so comparisons with previous bulletins should be treated with caution. This is particularly the case for house prices, for which previous quarters may be revised significantly.
Areas forming settlements with populations of over 10,000 are urban, while the remainder are defined as rural town and fringe; village; or hamlet and isolated dwellings.
For more information about the 2011 Rural-Urban Classification please visit the Rural Urban Classification webpage.
Produced by Defra Rural Statistics:
rural.statistics@defra.gsi.gov.uk
Comments on content and format welcome.