With a population of around £250,000, Swansea is a coastal city located in the county of the same name, in West Glamorgan, Wales. Historically known for copper being imported to its port, it now has a heavily service-based economy.
Swansea has a high proportion of staff in administrative roles compared to the national average; around 13% of the overall workforce falls into this category. Customer service-based jobs also make up around 12% of the overall employment statistics. This is reflected in the amount of public sector organisations in Swansea; the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's main UK offices are based here, employing around £4,500 staff.
Health and Education make up around 40% of jobs, with Swansea NHS Trust, the City and County of Swansea council being major employers, as well as Swansea Metropolitan University. The hospitality industry also recruits around a quarter of the working population.
Swansea's city centre itself is short of industry; most of the largest employers like Alberto-Culver and The Land Registry are situated on the Enterprise Park. The biggest individual occupational groups, associate professional & technical occupations, (about one sixth of overall employment), house their offices here. Recruitment agencies often fill temporary and permanent roles in these fields.
Despite a comparatively low total of those with NQF level 4 (30% versus the Welsh National average of 31%), and a lower than national average salary (£21,000 as opposed to £26,00), Swansea is a prosperous place to work, with roughly 90% of the financially active population in employment.
