Approximately 35,500 people are employed in sport and recreation sector with a further 2,800 self-employed.  This accounts for 1.6% of the regional workforce, a similar proportion to those employed nationally.  8.3% of all jobs in the sector are in the region.  There is estimated to be nearly 588,200 volunteers working in the sector.  Annual growth in employment was 4.6% in 2002.

At a sub-regional level, employment is:

• 16,000 West Yorkshire
• 10,200 South Yorkshire
• 6,000 North Yorkshire
• 5,800 Humberside

There are 2,600 sport and recreation businesses in the region, with the highest numbers in West and North Yorkshire.  70% of the businesses employ less than 10, compared to 81% across all sectors in the region.  Larger organisations in the region include the football, rugby and cricket clubs, and those connected to horse racing.  There are also a large number of stadia and facilities, including a number of major theme parks. 

Key statistics on the sector in the region:

• 61.6% of the workforce are female
• 58.5% of the workforce are employed part-time
• jobs are expected to increase by 6,000 between 2002-2008
• a high turnover rate is expected with 30% of current jobs needing to be filled up to 2008, equivalent to 11,400 jobs

17% of businesses have vacancies, and 47% of these are hard-to-fill vacancies.   These vacancies are the result of poor terms and conditions of job and the nature of shift work. 

Internal skills gaps are reported in 29% of sector businesses in the region, which equates to 13% of staff in the region. Skills that need development include: communication skills; team-working; customer handling skills; technical and practical and problem solving skills.

Source: SkillsActive regional fact sheet