Approximately 45,300 people are employed in the East of England’s sport and recreation sector which includes 3,300 self-employed people.  Employment in the sector accounts for 1.8% of the regional workforce.  9.9% of all jobs in the sector are in the region.  There is estimated to be 638,300 volunteers working in the sector.  Annual growth in employment was 5.3% in 2002.

At a sub-regional level, employment is:

• 11,300 Essex
• 9,900 Hertfordshire
• 8,000 Suffolk
• 6,500 Norfolk
• 5,300 Cambridgeshire
• 4,200 Bedfordshire and Luton

The region has 3,200 sport and recreation businesses, with the highest numbers in Essex and Suffolk.  72% of businesses in the sector employ less than 10, compared to 85% across all sectors in the region.  Larger organisations in the region include several Nationwide football clubs, county cricket clubs and the region is home to horse racing with major stables located in the region.  There are also a number of theme and leisure parks in the region attracting visitors.

Key statistics on the sector in the region:

• 61.7% of the workforce are female
• 57.2% of the workforce are employed part-time
• jobs are expected to increase by 7,100 between 2002-2008
• a high turnover rate is expected with 30% of current jobs needing to be filled up to 2008, equivalent to 13,600 jobs

23% of businesses have vacancies.  A high number of businesses with vacancies (60%) in the region reported them hard-to-fill.  Skills that need development include: team working; problem solving; and communication skills.

Source: SkillsActive regional fact sheet