Leicestershire is located in the heart of England and has a growing population of approximately 648,700 (ONS, 2010). The Eastern side of the county is predominantly  rural, with small villages and market towns, whilst the north and north-west is more urban. The county of Leicestershire is supported by excellent transport links. It is at the intersections of the M1, M6 and M42/A42 motorways and it is estimated that 95 percent of England’s population is accessible within four hours drive of Lutterworth.

Leicestershire has a successful economy with higher than (national) average wage levels, low rates of unemployment and a relatively diverse mix of industries. Despite some structural change, manufacturing and transport and communications still remain sizeable local sectors in terms of jobs, with higher levels of employment in both sectors by national standards. Further, Leicestershire has high levels of school-age educational achievement as attainment of 5+A*-C GCSEs (including English and Maths) is 3% above the national average and results are improving (DoE, 2008/09).

Leicestershire is a relatively affluent county and experiences very low levels of social-economic deprivation. The county is ranked 138 out of 149 top tier authorities in England for deprivation (where 1 is the most deprived) and based on the Census Output Area Classification, 42% of Leicestershire’s Output Areas live in areas labelled as ‘Prospering Suburbs’. Despite the economic crisis and the predicted rise in crime, total recorded crime across Leicestershire fell by 7% between 2008 and 2009 – in line with the national trend. In 2009/10 Leicestershire performed well against all the LAA crime indicators.

648,700 - number of people living in Leicestershire (mid-2010 population estimates)

68% - of the population reside in Urban Settlements

12.4 - the number of claimants seeking skilled trade occupations for every unfilled vacancy (JobCentre, August 2009)

£490 - average gross weekly pay of those in full-time employment living in Leicestershire during 2009

40,449 - number of all recorded crimes in Leicestershire during 09/10 (6% decrease on previous year)

2,215 - number of VAT registered businesses operating in Leicestershire during 2007

327,000 - number of working age people in employment (as of January 2009)

159% - the increase in number of people claiming JSA between April 2008 and April 2009

3% - the percentage of 5+ A*-C GCSEs (including English and Maths) in Leicestershire that is above the national average

A graphical view of Leicestershire statistics:

A report highlighting the key statistics, by various themes, in Leicestershire:

All our research publications, available at multiple geographies, are available via LSR-Online: http://www.lsr-online.org/

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