subject: Promising Forecast For Jobs In Poole [print this page] Despite the nation's and the region's persistent economic woes, the forecast for jobs in Poole is brighter than most officials originally expected. With especially significant gains in construction and manufacturing, experts now predict actual growth in the Poole job market.
The economy in and around Poole is a microcosm of the British economy as a whole: Showing only faint signs of recovery from deep depression, the region still labors under the burden of higher-than-average unemployment and sluggish business growth. The retail and financial services sectors remain strong, and several major retailers have announced plans to add jobs in and around Poole during the summer, 2010. But symptoms and signs of recession persist: In the last quarter of 2009 and the first quarter of 2010, in Poole and throughout Dorset, business 'births' only slightly outnumbered business closures, and the area's two economic mainstays-agriculture and tourism-posted approximately the same earnings year-over-year, but both sectors lost jobs to automation and increased worker productivity.
In April, 2010, the Poole, Bournemouth, and Dorset Councils undertook a comprehensive Local Economic Assessment, laying the foundation for community strategies and economic interventions. Beginning their work, council members expressed their concern for preserving the region's robust agricultural sector, which contributes nearly 20 percent of the area's GDP. But authorities guiding the assessment acknowledge, first, they must take bold steps to restore lost jobs in the region's sagging hospitality industry; and, second, they must foster creation of jobs out here in Poole by encouraging growth in 'green' energy industries and sophisticated high-tech manufacturing.
Wind energy project brings new jobs to Poole
In the next year, one of Great Britain's largest and most ambitious wind energy projects will bring up to 2000 jobs to the region. Early in 2010, the British Government, with the approval of the County Council, authorized Eneco, a Dutch energy producer, to begin construction on a 1 billion pound wind farm off the Dorset coast. Saying they hope the project 'will become a source of civic pride,' Eneco officials predicted the project will create up to three hundred on-shore jobs and over 1500 off-shore jobs. The project has cleared a series of licensing and contract hurdles, so that construction may begin as early as this summer.
The announcement represents a major boon for construction workers in Poole, where job losses in the construction sector have exceeded the national average. Just as importantly, local economists predict that the project will create in Poole, three retail and service jobs Poole for every one construction job it generates. Slated to stretch across five years, the project will have lasting benefit for jobs in Poole and throughout the region.
New manufacturing jobs in Poole
Early in the second quarter of 2010, Poole manufacturers posted positions for more than 1000 highly skilled workers-very good news for the region's many skilled tradesmen, who have looked forward to signs of recovery for some time. Consistent with the trend across Great Britain, the majority of these manufacturing jobs require college degrees and considerable experience; local manufacturers posted very few entry level positions. Commensurate with applicants' training and experience, salaries for these positions ranged between 37,500 and 85,000 pounds.
