Economy of Swansea facts for kids

The City and County of Swansea is a city area with lots of countryside around it, especially in the Gower. Many people see Swansea as the main hub for South West Wales. The area where people travel to work in Swansea also includes places like Neath & Port Talbot and Llanelli, forming what's called the Swansea Bay travel-to-work area.

Swansea used to be a big industrial center, but now most jobs are in the service sector. This means people work in areas like shops, offices, and healthcare, rather than factories.

Swansea's Economic Journey

From Seaside Resort to Industrial Powerhouse

In the late 1700s and early 1800s, people tried to make Swansea a popular seaside resort. It was seen as a pretty, peaceful place with nice Georgian architecture (buildings from the time of King George).

However, the growth of industries that worked with metals, called metallurgical industries, completely changed the town. The Lower Swansea valley was perfect for factories because it was close to Swansea's port, had easy access to coal, and there were plenty of workers. While other metals like lead and zinc were also processed nearby, Swansea's most famous industry was copper.

The very first copper factory was built in Landore in 1717. At first, copper ore (the rock that copper comes from) was brought in from places like Cornwall and Ireland. But by the 1820s, Swansea was getting copper shipments from as far away as South America, Africa, and Australia. The copper industry was at its peak in the 1880s. At that time, most of the copper ore imported into Britain came to Swansea, and local factories employed about 3,000 men.

From the 1870s, tinplate (thin steel sheets coated with tin) also became a huge local industry. The Siemens factory in Landore was a leader in this. Making tinplate helped Swansea's port grow even more. The Prince of Wales dock was opened in 1882 mainly for exporting tinplate. New tinplate factories were often built near ports, showing that the steel industry preferred coastal spots. However, the Welsh tinplate industry relied on selling to America. It faced big problems when America put a special tax, called the McKinley tariff, on imported goods in 1890.

Changes in the 20th Century

By the end of the Second World War, Swansea's traditional heavy industries were starting to decline. Even though Swansea Bay became a major center for the petroleum industry (oil and gas) in the 1960s, Swansea followed a general trend. It became a "post-industrial" place, meaning it moved away from heavy manufacturing towards a service sector economy.

Today, the most important job areas in the City and County of Swansea are:

• Public administration, education, and health (38.3% of local jobs)
• Shops, hotels, and restaurants (24.2%)
• Banking, finance, and insurance (19.9%)

Having many jobs in the public sector (like government and healthcare) is common across Wales.

Swansea's Economy Today

Main Job Providers

Many companies provide jobs in Swansea. Some manufacturing companies include 3M UK plc, Alberto-Culver, and International Rectifier.

Big service sector employers include Admiral Insurance, Electronic Data Systems (EDS), BT Group, Tesco, and South West Wales Publications (which publishes local newspapers).

Large public sector employers include the City and County of Swansea council itself, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), HM Land Registry, the Welsh Government, and the Department for Work and Pensions. Also, Swansea University, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, and Swansea NHS Trust (healthcare) are major employers.

Jobs and Work

In May 2008, about 70.7% of people in Swansea who were old enough to work had jobs. The biggest group of jobs in Swansea is in "associate professional & technical occupations" (14.3% of jobs). Swansea also has many jobs in "administrative & secretarial" (12.9%) and "sales & customer service" (11.2%) compared to the rest of Wales and the UK.

The number of jobs in Swansea grew by 14,800 (or 16.2%) between 2001 and 2006. This was a faster growth than in Wales or the UK as a whole. However, jobs in manufacturing fell by 2,100 (or 25.2%) during the same period. This fall was larger than in Wales or the UK.

Daily Travel to Work

Swansea is a place where many people travel into for work. About 16,100 people travel out of Swansea each day for work, mostly to nearby Neath Port Talbot and Carmarthenshire. But 28,300 people travel into Swansea for work, also mainly from Neath Port Talbot and Carmarthenshire. Swansea is part of the larger Swansea Bay travel-to-work area.

Earnings

Surveys show that the average yearly earnings for full-time workers living in Swansea (£21,577) are lower than the UK average. For those who actually work in Swansea, the average earnings are even lower, at £18,993.

Similarly, the "gross value added" (GVA) per person, which measures the value of goods and services produced, is relatively low in Swansea at £14,302. However, lower earnings and GVA don't always mean a big difference in living standards. This is because the cost of living (how much things cost) can be different, and people might receive "transfer payments" (like benefits).

Swansea City Centre

Some studies rank Swansea as the 18th-largest retail (shopping) center in the UK. This is quite high for its population size. However, when it comes to how attractive and competitive its shopping is, Swansea often ranks outside the top 50. This is mainly because the quality of shops in the city centre isn't as high as in other places.

One unusual thing about Swansea is that there aren't many jobs in the city center compared to other cities of similar size. Many big employers have moved their offices to the Enterprise Park or other areas outside the main city center. Only about 4,510 office jobs are in the city center, compared to 13,910 in Cardiff. This means less money is spent in the city center, which makes the local shopping area weaker. Low demand for new offices means developers don't build them, creating a "vicious circle" where the city center struggles to improve.

In January 2008, plans were made to improve several big areas in the city center and along the waterfront. These plans include adding 60,000 square meters (600,000 square feet) of new shops, 1,000 homes, and new places for fun, offices, hotels, and conferences. This big improvement project is expected to take about 15 years.

The Welsh Development Agency (now part of the Welsh Government) has been working on the SA1 Swansea Waterfront development. This area, on the edge of the city center, is meant to be a "lively, attractive waterfront destination" with a mix of different uses. The "Technium" idea, which provides special office spaces for high technology companies (often new companies started by people from the local university), was launched at SA1. More facilities have been built there and at the university campus. The Welsh Government and IBM are also supporting a new Institute of Life Sciences at the university. The hope is that this will create more highly skilled, high value-added jobs.