Annual Report 2022/23 - Data Updates and Analysis

As reported last year, Shetland’s figures for population aged 16-29 indicate a slight downward trend at 14.6% (NRS Scotland 2021) compared to our baseline of 15.5%.Figures remained fairly static between 2018 and 2021. The trend is similar to that of Scotland as a whole. The birth rate for Scotland is lower than the rest of the UK, which could be a factor behind the decreasing trends in the 16-29 population. Anecdotal evidence suggests that inward migration has also changed. Attracting people to live, work, study and invest in Shetland is a core aim of Community Planning Partners, and the Promote Shetland service is one of the key activities to support talent attraction and growth.

While there is no new data on businesses struggling to recruit labour locally, anecdotal evidence from partners suggests that business, industry and public agencies consistently highlight difficulties in recruitment and retention of staff. Tourism and hospitality continue to struggle, with venues closing at times due to lack of labour.  Most hotels have reported challenges, including not opening restaurants due to labour shortages. Construction businesses are struggling to recruit, advertising on a regular basis and not managing to recruit apprentices this year. Engineering businesses with growth opportunities report they are challenged because they don’t know where the labour will come from to allow expansion. Community anchor organisations have also struggled to recruit development workers.

The number of employees in Shetland rose to 14,200 in 2021, higher than the target of 13,700 for 2021. This shows an improvement on 2020’s 13,800 and 2018’s baseline of 13,500. Levels of employment, as well as underemployment and demands for workforce, have been driven by significant industrial developments, including developments in energy, space and tourism. The job density in Shetland in 2021 was 1.12 jobs per person compared to 0.81 in Scotland (NOMIS 2023). There is some evidence of economic recovery since the pandemic. Anecdotally there appears to be an increased number of visitors and a busy construction sector. The proportion of the Shetland population deemed economically active has increased to 81.9% for the period Apr 2022-Mar 2023 compared to 69.9% for the same period in 2020-2021, and the proportion of those on out-of-work benefits has fallen to 1.6% in July 2023, compared to 2.6% in July 2021 and 3.8% in July 2020 (NOMIS 2023). Latest figures on gross value added showed a figure of £792m in 2021 compared to £755m in 2020 (Office for National Statistics 2023).

As reported last year, Underemployment (people who would like to work longer hours given the opportunity) decreased significantly from the baseline of 21.3% to 6.5% in 2020.