The town of Carlisle is located in Cumbria in the North West of England.
Carlisle is widely considered by many recruitment agencies to be amongst the North West's economic powerhouses. The town is home to both Cumbria County Council and Carlisle City Council, offering many employment openings in public administration. The headquarters of the University of Cumbria are also based in Carlisle. Such is the range of public administration and education jobs that 27% of workers in the town are employed in such occupations.
Other large employers based in and around Carlisle include distribution companies, in particular the Stobart Group, and various manufacturing and construction companies. Just over 12% of the working population are employed in manufacturing jobs while 27% are employed in distribution, hotels and restaurant jobs.
Under half of Carlisle's working population have qualifications at NVQ Level 3 and above, which is equivalent to two or more A levels while under a quarter have qualifications at NVQ Level 4 and above, which is the equivalent of the first year of an undergraduate degree.
The majority (66%) of staff in Carlisle are in full-time employment and receive an average weekly salary of around £439. Unemployment in Carlisle currently stands at 6.2%, which is lower than that of the rest of the North West and Great Britain as a whole.