The City and County of Swansea is an urban centre with a largely
ruralRural areas are large and isolated areas of a country, often with low population density.About 91 percent of the rural population now earn salaried incomes, often in urban areas...
hinterland in Gower; the city is often described as the regional centre for
South West WalesSouth West Wales is a region of Wales. A definition consisting of the unitary authorities of Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire is used by a number of government agencies and private organisations including:*BBC...
.
SwanseaSwansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
's
Travel to Work AreaA Travel to Work Area or TTWA is a statistical tool used by UK Government agencies and local authorities, especially by the Department for Work and Pensions and Job Centres, to indicate an area where the population would generally commute to a larger town, city or conurbation for the purposes of...
, not coterminous with the local authority, also contained the
Swansea ValleyThe Swansea Valley , one of the South Wales Valleys, encompasses the upper reaches of the River Tawe area in Wales, UK, upstream from Swansea. Today, the area is divided between the City and County of Swansea, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, and Powys....
in 1991; the new 2001-based version merges the Swansea,
Neath & Port TalbotNeath Port Talbot is a county borough and one of the unitary authority areas of Wales. Neath Port Talbot is the 8th most populous county in Wales and the third most populous county borough....
, and
LlanelliLlanelli , the largest town in the county of Carmarthenshire, Wales, sits on the Loughor estuary on the West Wales coast, approximately west-north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. The town is famous for its proud rugby tradition and is a centre of tinplate production...
areas into a new
Swansea BayThe Swansea Bay area of Wales is located north of the sea area of Swansea Bay. The term Swansea Bay is used by the Welsh Assembly Government for policy planning purposes as well as by a number of other organisations....
Travel to Work Area.
Formerly an industrial centre, most employment in the city is now in the service sector.
1800s
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, there were attempts to establish Swansea as a fashionable
seaside resortA seaside resort is a resort located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- History of the seaside resort :...
. An
engravingEngraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
of the town in 1818 is described as showing a place which was "distinctly Arcadian, reminiscent of a landscape by Claude sprinkled with civilised
Georgian architectureGeorgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the...
".
However, the growth of the metallurgical industry was to transform the town. The
Lower Swansea valleyThe Lower Swansea valley is the lower half of the valley of the River Tawe in south Wales. It runs from approximately the level of Clydach down to Swansea docks, where it opens into Swansea Bay and the Bristol Channel...
was a favourable area for industrial development because of the proximity of
Swansea's portSwansea Docks is the collective name for several docks in Swansea, Wales. The Swansea docks are located immediately south east of Swansea city centre. In the mid 19th century the port was exporting 60% of the world's copper from factories situated in the Tawe valley...
, easy access to
coalCoal is a readily combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock normally occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
deposits, and a supply of cheap
labourThe workforce is the labour pool in employment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry, but can also apply to a geographic region like a city, country, state, etc. The term generally excludes the employers or management, and implies those involved in...
. While
leadLead is a main-group element with symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal, also considered to be one of the heavy metals. Lead has a bluish-white color when freshly cut, but tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed to air...
and
zincZinc , also known as spelter, is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
were also smelted in west
GlamorganGlamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying names and boundaries until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three preserved...
, Swansea’s signature industry was
copperCopper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29.It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is rather soft and malleable and a freshly-exposed surface has a pinkish or peachy color...
. The first
copperCopper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29.It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is rather soft and malleable and a freshly-exposed surface has a pinkish or peachy color...
works was built at
LandoreLandore is the name of an electoral ward, a community in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, UK. The community does not have a community council....
in 1717. Initially copper ore was imported from
CornwallCornwall is a county of England in the United Kingdom, forming the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain. It is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Taken with the...
,
CardiganshireCardiganshire was an ancient county of Wales created in 1282. In extent it is more or less identical to Ceredigion, a county constituted as Cardiganshire in 1996, with the name reverting to Ceredigion a day later.-History:...
and
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
, but by the 1820s Swansea was receiving shipments from as far afield as
South AmericaSouth America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere...
,
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
and
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
. The
copperCopper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29.It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is rather soft and malleable and a freshly-exposed surface has a pinkish or peachy color...
industry reached a zenith in the 1880s, when the majority of copper ores imported to Britain were shipped to Swansea and local works employed around 3000 men at any given time.
From the 1870s, tinplate also became a major local industry, pioneered by the
SiemensSiemens AG is a German electrical and telecommunications companysiemens may refer to*siemens , the SI unit of electrical conductance, equivalent to 1 ampere/voltSiemens may also refer to:...
works at
LandoreLandore is the name of an electoral ward, a community in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, UK. The community does not have a community council....
. Tinplate production stimulated the further expansion of Swansea port with the opening of the Prince of Wales
dockA dock is a man-made feature involved in the handling of boats or ships. However the exact meaning varies between different variants of the English language.-History:...
, to be used mainly for tinplate
exportIn economics, an export is any good or commodity, transported from one country to another country in a legitimate fashion, typically for use in trade. Export goods or services are provided to foreign consumers by domestic producers. Export is an important part of international trade...
, in 1882. The location of new tinplate works confirmed the steel industry’s increasing preference for coastal sites near ports. However, the Welsh tinplate industry was dependent on exporting to the American market, and suffered serious implications from the imposition of the
McKinley tariffThe McKinley Tariff of 1890 set the average ad valorem tariff rate for imports to the United States at 48.4%, and protected manufacturing. Its chief proponent was Congressman and future President William McKinley....
in 1890.
1900s
By the end of the Second World War the traditional local heavy industries were in decline, and although
Swansea BaySwansea Bay is a bay on the Bristol Channel on the South Wales coast. Places on the bay include Mumbles, Swansea and Port Talbot. The River Neath, River Tawe, River Afan and Blackpill stream flow into the bay....
emerged as a major centre of the
petroleum industryThe petroleum industry includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transporting , and marketing petroleum products. The largest volume products of the industry are fuel oil and gasoline...
in the 1960s, Swansea shared in the general trend towards a post-industrial, service sector economy. Today, the most important economic sectors in the City and County of Swansea are: public administration, education and health (38.3% of local jobs); distribution, hotels and restaurants (24.2%); and banking, finance and insurance (19.9%). The high proportion of
public sectorThe public sector is a part of the state that deals with the delivery of goods and services by and for the government, whether national, regional or local/municipal....
employmentEmployment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as: "A person in the service of another under any contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, where the employer has the power or right to control and direct...
is common to Wales as a whole.
Major Employers
Major employers in Swansea include manufacturing facilities operated by
3M3M Company, formerly known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation....
UK plc,
Alberto-CulverAlberto-Culver is an American corporation with international sales whose principal business is manufacturing hair and skin beauty care products under such brands as Alberto VO5, St. Ives , TRESemmé, FDS, Consort, and Nexxus...
, Bemis,
International RectifierInternational Rectifier Corp. is a manufacturer of power semiconductors , located in El Segundo, California, USA...
, Morganite Electrical Carbon, and Pure Wafer. Major service sector employers include
Admiral InsuranceAdmiral Insurance, part of the Admiral Group, is a car insurance specialist. Its head offices are in Capital Tower, Cardiff, Wales that are shared with its sister companies elephant.co.uk and Bell Insurance. Admiral is currently managed by Managing Director Sue Longthorn....
,
Electronic Data SystemsHP Enterprise Services, is a global business and technology services company, previously known as Electronic Data Systems , headquartered in Plano, Texas that defined the outsourcing business when it was established in 1962 by Ross Perot...
(EDS),
NTLNTL may refer to:* NTL Ireland, a cable television and MMDS company in the Republic of Ireland* NTL:Telewest and NTL Internet, known since February 2007 as Virgin Media, a company involved in television, Internet, mobile phone, and fixed-line telephone services, especially in the United Kingdom,...
,
BT GroupBT Group plc is the privatised former state telecommunications operator in the United Kingdom. It is the dominant fixed line telecommunications and broadband Internet provider in the UK, and also operates in more than 170 countries around the world...
,
Conduit118 118 is a UK directory enquiries provider based in Cardiff that assists customers with telephone number enquiries and general queries....
,
TescoTesco plc is a UK-based international grocery and general merchandising retail chain. It is the largest British retailer by both global sales and domestic market share, with profits exceeding £3 billion. It is currently the third largest global retailer based on revenue, behind Wal-Mart and...
and
South West Wales PublicationsSouth West Wales Publications , part of the Northcliffe Media, is a regional newspaper publisher based in Swansea. The company produces eight local and regional paid-for and free titles including the:*South Wales Evening Post,*Carmarthen Journal,...
. Large public sector employers include the City and County of Swansea council,
Driver and Vehicle Licensing AgencyThe Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is the organisation of UK Government responsible for maintaining a database of drivers and a database of vehicles in Great Britain; its counterpart in Northern Ireland is the Driver & Vehicle Agency...
,
HM Land RegistryLand Registry is a British Governmental organisation created in 1862. Land Registry is responsible for publicly recording interests in registered land in England and Wales and reports to the Ministry of Justice...
,
Welsh Assembly GovernmentThe Welsh Assembly Government was firstly an executive body of the National Assembly for Wales, consisting of the First Minister and his Cabinet from 1999 to 2007....
, Department of Work and Pensions,
Swansea UniversitySwansea University is a university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Swansea University was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales, following the report of the Haldane Commission into University Education in Wales...
, Swansea Metropolitan University, and
Swansea NHS TrustSwansea NHS Trust was an NHS Trust covering Swansea, south Wales. It was established on 1 April 1999 and ceased to exist on 1 April 2008 when it merged with Bro Morgannwg NHS Trust to form the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University NHS Trust . The trust managed nine hospitals and provides over 1,800...
.
Employment
In May 2008, 70.7% of Swansea's working-age residents were in employment. The largest single occupational group in Swansea is associate professional & technical occupations (comprising 14.3% of employment), although compared to the Welsh and UK averages the city also has large shares of administrative & secretarial occupations (12.9%) and sales & customer service occupations (11.2%).
Employment in Swansea grew by 14,800 or 16.2% between 2001 and 2006, greater than equivalent increases in Wales and the UK as a whole. However, manufacturing employment in Swansea fell by 2,100 (-25.2%) between 2001 and 2006, a larger fall than recorded in Wales or the UK as a whole.
Commuting
The city is a centre of net in-
commutingCommuting is regular travel between one's place of residence and place of work or full time study. Institutions that have few dormitories or near-campus student housing are called commuter schools in the United States....
, with around 16,100 people making a daily journey outside the authority for work (principally to neighbouring
Neath Port TalbotNeath Port Talbot is a county borough and one of the unitary authority areas of Wales. Neath Port Talbot is the 8th most populous county in Wales and the third most populous county borough....
and
CarmarthenshireCarmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. Its three largest towns are Carmarthen, Llanelli and Ammanford...
) and 28,300 commuting in (again, mainly from Neath Port Talbot and Carmarthenshire). Swansea is part of the
Swansea BayThe Swansea Bay area of Wales is located north of the sea area of Swansea Bay. The term Swansea Bay is used by the Welsh Assembly Government for policy planning purposes as well as by a number of other organisations....
Travel to Work AreaA Travel to Work Area or TTWA is a statistical tool used by UK Government agencies and local authorities, especially by the Department for Work and Pensions and Job Centres, to indicate an area where the population would generally commute to a larger town, city or conurbation for the purposes of...
.
Income
Surveys show that annual full-time gross median earnings for Swansea residents (£21,577) are lower than the UK average. The annual gross median earnings for those who work in Swansea are even lower, only £18,993. Similarly,
gross value addedGross Value Added or GVA is a measure in economics of the value of goods and services produced in an area or sector of an economy.-Relationship to Gross Domestic Product:...
(GVA) per head is relatively low in Swansea at £14,302. However, lower earnings and GVA per head do not necessarily signify a major gap in living standards because of differences in the cost of living and transfer payments.
City Centre
Although some surveys place Swansea as the 18th largest retail centre in the UK - a high placement considering the size of its population - in rankings of
shoppingShopping is the examining of goods or services from retailers with the intent to purchase at that time. Shopping is an activity of selection and/or purchase. In some contexts it is considered a leisure activity as well as an economic one....
attractiveness and competitiveness Swansea is usually placed outside the top 50, largely because of the low quality of the city centre retail offer.
A peculiarity of Swansea is the lack of employment in the city centre, relative to other towns and cities of similar size. Many major employers have moved to the
Enterprise ParkThe Swansea Enterprise Park is a combined business park, retail park and industrial estate in Swansea, Wales. In 1981 it became the first enterprise zone in the United Kingdom, and the largest. Originally it was named the Swansea Enterprise Zone. The designated area covers parts of the...
or other city fringe locations; only 4,510 office jobs are now are located in the city centre, compared to 13,910 in
CardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for many national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for Wales. According to recent estimates, the...
. This reduces spend in the city centre economy and helps to underpin the weakness of the local retail sector. Low demand prevents speculative development of new commercial premises, which has created a
vicious circleVicious Circle is an album released in 1994 by L.A. Guns. Most of the songs feature Phil Lewis on lead vocals, but the track "Nothing Better To Do" features Kelly Nickels on lead vocals, and "Tarantula" is instrumental. The album features drummer MC Bones on several songs. Singer Phil Lewis and...
of city centre decline.
In January 2008, developers were appointed to lead the regeneration of several major sites in the city centre and the waterfront; proposals include of additional retail space, 1,000 residential units and new leisure, office, hotel and conference facilities. The regeneration programme will take an estimated 15 years. The
Welsh Development AgencyThe Welsh Development Agency was an Assembly Sponsored Public Body established in 1976 to encourage business development and investment in Wales...
(and now the
Welsh Assembly GovernmentThe Welsh Assembly Government was firstly an executive body of the National Assembly for Wales, consisting of the First Minister and his Cabinet from 1999 to 2007....
) have been promoting the
SA1 Swansea WaterfrontSA1 Swansea Waterfront is the marketing name given to the brownfield development area located in northern part of Swansea Docks. The area is located directly to the southeast of Swansea city centre. It is bordered by the Fabian Way to the north and covers the Prince of Wales Dock area.The...
development on the edge of the city centre, intended to become a "lively, attractive waterfront destination... using an imaginative mix of land uses". The WDA's
TechniumTechnium is the brand name of a business incubation scheme in Wales. The scheme provides business premises and business support from the public sector....
concept of incubator space for high technology
firmsA business is a legally recognized organization designed to provide goods and/or services to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, most being privately owned and formed to earn profit that will increase the wealth of its owners and grow the business itself...
(often
spin outSpin out refers to a type of spin off where a company "splits off" sections of itself as a separate business.The common definition of spin out is when a division of a company or organization becomes an independent business...
s from the local university) was launched at SA1, and additional facilities have now been constructed there and on the
universitySwansea University is a university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Swansea University was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales, following the report of the Haldane Commission into University Education in Wales...
campus. The Assembly and
IBMInternational Business Machines Corporation, abbreviated IBM, is a multinational computer technology and IT consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, Town of North Castle, New York, United States. The company is one of the few information technology companies with a continuous history dating...
are supporting a new Institute of
Life SciencesWe define Life Sciences to encompass companies in the fields of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, biomedical technologies, life systems technologies, nutraceuticals, cosmeceuticals, food processing, environmental, biomedical devices, and organizations and institutions that devote the majority of...
at the university, which it is hoped will generate more
highly-skilledA skill is the learned capacity to carry out pre-determined results often with the minimum outlay of time, energy, or both. Skills can often be divided into domain-general and domain-specific skills...
,
high value-addedIn economics, the difference between cost of materials and labor to produce a product, and the sale price of a product is the value added. In national accounts used in macroeconomics, it refers to the contribution of the factors of production, i.e., land, labor, and capital goods, to raising the...
jobs.
Trend of regional gross value added of Swansea at current basic prices. Figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
| Year |
Regional Gross Value Added |
| 1996 |
2,095 |
| 2000 |
2,536 |
| 2005 |
3,238 |
External links