Socio-economic statistics for Ashurst, Lancashire

Is Ashurst in West Lancashire a nice place to live or is it a bit rough? We have collated a series of socio-economic statistics and demographics from UK government sources such as the 2021 Census and the Index of Multiple Deprivation. They should give you a broad snapshot of the area and the surrounding locations. Are the residents of Ashurst older than the national average or younger? What is the population of Ashurst and West Lancashire? What is the claimant count in Ashurst and how many residents are unemployed? This page should provide you with the answers.

Ashurst Unemployment Statistics

Since the introduction of Universal Credit, The Department for Work & Pensions have not issued any statistics (in our view) that can be used to ascertain the levels of unemployment or under employment in the UK, just meaningless geographic counts. However, the Office of National Statistics does publish claimant counts of people receiving out of work benefits, be that legacy Jobseeker’s Allowance or Universal Credit as a proportion of people over 16. These figures are usually updated once a month and are for Local Authority Districts and Unitary Authority Districts. So below are the figures of West Lancashire.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
West Lancashire	3%	-0.2%
North West	4.3%	-0.3%
England	3.8%	-0.3%
UK	3.7%	-0.3%

Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Last Retrieved: March 2023

The 2021 census had data on people who were economically active (seeking work) yet unemployed on Census day (Sunday March 21st 2021). These statitics do cover Ashurst on a ward level. However, it has to be noted that the Census day was during the height of the Covid19 pandemic and therefore are not reflective of normal levels of unemployment. For example, between March 2020 and June 2020 people claiming Universal Credit doubled in most areas of the United Kingdom and then steadily declined up to the day of the Census and beyond. This data also contains the proportion of people in part-time work (working between 1-35 hours per week), which maybe an indicator of under employment in Ashurst.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	52.27%
In Part-Time Work	28.78%
Unemployed	4.71%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

71.22% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Ashurst

How many residents own or rent their home in Ashurst and West Lancashire

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Ashurst either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 58.39 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 41.61 of Ashurst residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Skelmersdale North	58.39%	41.61%
West Lancashire	70.72%	29.28%
North West	62.33%	37.67%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Ashurst has a lower level of home ownership than than the national average.

Ashurst compared to other wards in West Lancashire

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Aughton Park	88.17%	11.83%
2	Parbold	87.54%	12.46%
3	Newburgh	86.81%	13.19%
4	Rufford	85.75%	14.25%
5	Wrightington	84.71%	15.29%
6	Aughton and Downholland	84.19%	15.81%
7	Halsall	83.85%	16.15%
8	Tarleton	82.9%	17.1%
9	Hesketh-with-Becconsall	82.41%	17.59%
10	Scarisbrick	81.96%	18.04%
11	Bickerstaffe	79.4%	20.6%
12	Burscough West	76.54%	23.46%
13	North Meols	75.9%	24.1%
14	Knowsley	74.96%	25.04%
15	Up Holland	74.8%	25.2%
16	Burscough East	72.59%	27.41%
17	Ashurst	69.57%	30.43%
18	Scott	67.93%	32.07%
19	Derby (West Lancashire)	64.77%	35.23%
20	Skelmersdale North	58.39%	41.61%
21	Skelmersdale South	57.28%	42.72%
22	Moorside (West Lancashire)	50.27%	49.73%
23	Tanhouse	48.22%	51.78%
24	Birch Green	44.9%	55.1%
25	Digmoor	39.13%	60.87%

Ashurst is ranked 20 out of 25 wards in West Lancashire for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Ashurst Health Statistics

Skelmersdale North has a significantly lower proportion of residents (>5%) describing their health as very good than the national average for England.

Area	VG	G	F	B	VB
Skelmersdale North	40.94%	34.74%	15.88%	6.18%	2.27%
West Lancashire	48.08%	33.14%	13.12%	4.35%	1.31%
North West	47.73%	32.71%	13.36%	4.77%	1.43%
England	48.49%	33.71%	12.65%	3.98%	1.17%

VG = Very Good, G = Good, F = Fair, B = Bad & VB = Very Bad

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

How has the health of residents in West Lancashire changed since 2011?

West Lancashire residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 0.9% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	47.59%	32.73%	13.37%	4.86%	1.45%
2021	48.08%	33.14%	13.12%	4.35%	1.31%

VG = Very Good, G = Good, F = Fair, B = Bad & VB = Very Bad

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Ashurst Education Statistics

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census to found of the level of education Ashurst residents have in terms of formal qualifications as a percentage. The UK government breaks qualifications down into 7 levels. A detailed explanation of these levels can be found here. However, the Census groups these into just 4 \'levels\'. Here are some examples of the qualifications each census level represents when not stated;

Level 1 - GCSE grades D, E, F, or G & below
Level 2 - GCSE A*, A, B, C or O Level grades A, B or C
Level 3 - A or AS qualification at any grade
Level 4 - HNC, Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree or Phd

In this first table we have compared Ashurst to the national average for England.

Level	Skelmersdale North	England
No Qualifications	27.56%	18.08%
Level 1	11.81%	9.69%
Level 2	15.94%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	5.61%	5.32%
Level 3	17.51%	16.92%
Level 4	19.21%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Ashurst Age Distribution Statistics

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 Census and the calculated the proportion of age groups in Skelmersdale North.

Age Band	Proportion
4 & under
5 - 9 years
10 - 15 years
16 - 19 years
20 - 24 years
25 - 34 years
35 - 49 years
50 - 64 years
65 - 74 years
75 - 84 years
85 years & over

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What are the occupations of the residents of Ashurst?

The largest employment sector in Ashurst is Elementary Occupations. The smallest employment sector is Managers, Directors & Senior Officials.

Sector	Proportion
Elementary Occupations	18.89%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	14.56%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	12.4%
Professional Occupations	10.18%
Skilled Trades	9.42%
Associate Professional & Technical	8.83%
Administrative & Secretarial	8.19%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	7.95%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

Ashurst & West Lancashire Immigration Statistics

We have analysed the Census 2021 raw data on country of birth and compiled immigration statistics as percentages of the population. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. Below are the figures for Ashurst in the West Lancashire local area district.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Skelmersdale North	91.88%	8.12%
West Lancashire	94.05%	5.95%
North West	88.33%	11.67%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Ashurst compared to other wards in West Lancashire

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Digmoor	84.09%	15.91%
2	Birch Green	87.38%	12.62%
3	Moorside	87.53%	12.47%
4	Tanhouse	88.31%	11.69%
5	Skelmersdale North	91.88%	8.12%
6	Ashurst	93.15%	6.85%
7	Skelmersdale South	93.15%	6.85%
8	Derby	94.3%	5.7%
9	Tarleton	94.92%	5.08%
10	North Meols	95.06%	4.94%
11	Parbold	95.32%	4.68%
12	Hesketh-with-Becconsall	95.44%	4.56%
13	Scott	95.49%	4.51%
14	Knowsley	95.5%	4.5%
15	Aughton and Downholland	96.42%	3.58%
16	Up Holland	96.44%	3.56%
17	Newburgh	96.49%	3.51%
18	Scarisbrick	96.53%	3.47%
19	Burscough East	96.74%	3.26%
20	Burscough West	96.82%	3.18%
21	Bickerstaffe	96.85%	3.15%
22	Wrightington	96.89%	3.11%
23	Halsall	97.03%	2.97%
24	Aughton Park	97.2%	2.8%
25	Rufford	97.78%	2.22%

';Ashurst is ranked 5 out of 25 wards in West Lancashire for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What is the population of Ashurst and West Lancashire?

The table below contains the populations figures for each ward in West Lancashire including Ashurst. These population ONS figures are estimated are dated Mid 2020.

Ward	Population
Ashurst	6331
Aughton and Downholland	5456
Aughton Park	3749
Bickerstaffe	1969
Birch Green	4326
Burscough East	4463
Burscough West	4800
Derby	8955
Digmoor	4729
Halsall	2064
Hesketh-with-Becconsall	3947
Knowsley	5564
Moorside	3922
Newburgh	1903
North Meols	4589
Parbold	3780
Rufford	2049
Scarisbrick	4067
Scott	5912
Skelmersdale North	4056
Skelmersdale South	6405
Tanhouse	5341
Tarleton	5792
Up Holland	6380
Wrightington	3947
West Lancashire Total	114496

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Last updated: 20/02/2024, Additional Sources: Office for National Statistics & Department for Work & Pensions.

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