The local economy
Since being designated a new town in 1964, Redditch's local economy has showed consistently strong growth. As table 1 shows, the manufacturing sector is particularly important to the town and surrounding area, with a healthy proportion of the economy in emerging hi-tech industries.

Apart from the information on this site, more details can be found by clicking on the following links:

• Redditch Borough Council
• The Chamber of Commerce
• Local Employment Agency

EMPLOYMENT BY SECTOR
Redditch has prospered in recent years, attracting a great deal of new investment, which has in turn led to a substantial fall in unemployment (from 10.8% in June 1994 to 5.5% in July 2000). This new-found prosperity is reflected in CACI figures which show a high proportion of "Affluent Executives" (18.8%) and "Well-off Workers" (13.2%) when compared with UK figures (3.8% and 7.8% respectively.)

 

AGE STRUCTURE

Demographically, both Redditch and its surrounding area (Worcester County Council) have a higher than average proportion of economically active people in the crucial 30-44 age band. And with 17% of the population at school age (compared with only 13.5% nationwide), the town should avoid the predicted skills shortage resulting from slowing population growth that will affect other areas of the country.

In fact, Redditch's population has grown steadily to almost 80,000 since a figure of 66,000 in 1981, an indicator of the town's vigorous growth in the past 20 years.