Appendices - Armagh City and District Council

STAGE ONE REPORT
The Paul Hogarth Company
Evidence in support of an Armagh Masterplan
Figure 2.2: Employment by sector – Armagh versus Northern Ireland
Health
Education
Transport and storage
Wholesale and retail
Construction
Other
Extraction
Electricity, gas and w ater
Public Admin
Finance
Hotels and restaurants
Manufacturing
Business
-4.0 -3.0 -2.0 -1.0 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0
Source: DETI / NISRA
2.12 Armagh has an above average concentration of employment in the high paid public sector’s
of health and education. Over 42% of total employment is found in the ‘Public
administration’, ‘Health’ and ‘Education’ sectors. Given its central position in the region, it is
perhaps not surprising that there is an above average concentration of employment in the
transport and storage, and wholesale trade sectors.
2.13 However it is underrepresented in the high value added sectors such business and finance.
The deficit of employment in the hotels and restaurants sector could suggest that the tourism
offering in the area is not developed and has potential for future growth. On the plus side,
Armagh has a below average concentration of employment in the declining manufacturing
sector. Although successful manufacturing activities need to be high value added, they are
often more productivity and therefore require less labour.
2.14 Armagh has a small private sector (38.72% of total employment), which is heavily dominated
by small businesses (less than 4% of businesses in Armagh employ more than 20
employees). The small nature of businesses in the area, could impact on the ability and
capacity to undertake research and development activities.
Figure 2.3: Business size (2007)
% of total businesses
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
0-4 5-19 20-49 50+
Armagh
NI
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