UK employment
Some key terms
Automated - Using machinery rather than people in manufacturing and data processing.
Knowledge economy - Based on knowledge and mental skills.
Biotechnology - Application of science to global problems.
Household income - Total income earned by everyone in a household, after paying tax.
Public sector - Local and national government organisations, e.g. NHS.
Domino effect - A chain reaction that occurs when a small change causes a similar change nearby, which then causes another similar change, and so on in a sequence.
Diversification - Creating varied industries and economic activities.
Brownfield site - An area of land that has been built on before and can be built on again.
Greenfield site - An area of land which has not previously been built upon.
Digital economy - Based on digital technology.
Green employment - Jobs that are created to improve the environment - e.g. building wind turbines.
There have been many changes in the industrial structure of the UK economy in the past 50 years as a consequence of government policies and external forces such as globalisation.
Key points:
• Primary jobs such as farming declined because of mechanisation.
• Mining/fishing jobs declining because minerals used up and cheaper to import products.
• Secondary jobs have declined since 1950s (after rapid growth in Industrial Revolution) because countries can produce goods cheaper than UK.
• Vehicle industry jobs grown due to new technology and good reputations.
• Tertiary jobs, especially retail and finance, have seen massive growth since 1980’s because the UK concentrated on what it does best – finance.
• Increased personal wealth means people want better standard of living and more services.
• Quaternary jobs have rapidly increased in last 10 years as firms invest more in research.
• I.C.T. jobs have seen quickest growth due to rapidly changing technology.
• New technologies allow firms a much wider choice of where to locate the different parts of their firm.
How and why has the balance of employment types changed?
1. Many more part time workers because firms find it cheaper to employ people part-time and more people like the flexibility it offers.
2. Lots of part time workers actually want full time posts – 1.5million were working part time in 2012 because they couldn’t find full time posts.
3. Male dominated jobs (steel making, shipbuilding and other secondary jobs) have declined whilst female economic activity has risen (male from 95% economic activity to 75% and female from 59% to 74%).
4. Majority of part time workers are women who want a career as well as a family.
5. Average wages vary greatly from job to job and since the 1970’s wage rates have been low compared to the cost of living. This is because of globalisation and firms wanting to be competitive so they keep wage costs down.
6. There are now many more temporary jobs because companies want to be flexible and be able to respond to rapidly changing economic circumstances.
