Unemployment shows Cambridgeshire's 'north-south divide'

Peterborough has the highest unemployment rate in Cambridgeshire, the CPCA report said

Unemployment rates are evidence of a "north-south skills divide" within a single county, figures have shown.

The data comes from a regional skills and employment profile, drawn up on behalf of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA).

Peterborough and Fenland had "lower levels of skill" than other parts of the county, the report said.

The figures would "inform strategy, policy and strategic commissioning," the CPCA said.

Peterborough had the highest rate of unemployment in Cambridgeshire - at 4.8% - compared to 2.9% in the rest of Cambridgeshire, and a national rate of 3.7%.

The city's median wage is also some 12% lower than the regional average - £586.20 per week in 2022 compared to the average of £664.40.

Fenland towns like Wisbech have the lowest number of residents with formal qualifications, the report said

Fenland also had the lowest proportion of residents with formal qualifications, the report said, while Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire had the most qualified residents.

Trading was Peterborough's largest employment sector, according to its profile, with 20% working in retail, with health and social work the second largest sector, despite having the highest number of vacancies.

The area profiles were discussed at a CPCA meeting on Monday, where it was suggested that Cambridge needed less support for skills and employment.

Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire had higher employment rates and more people with formal qualifications

The meeting chair, Liberal Democrat councillor Lucy Nethsingha, said the CPCA should look at areas "at postcode level", as there were small pockets of Cambridge that needed support.

The CPCA report also highlighted ways in which it had supported skills and education in the county already, such as helping to fund Peterborough's new university and new community centres in Fenland.

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