Rate : Mining

Rates are used to define comparative statistics that can be mapped and graphed. For example, our occupational information includes counts of the number of workers in employment and out of employment, as well as the total number of workers. We then define a measure called the 'Unemployment Rate', which uses the number out of work rather than the number in work, and expresses it as a percentage of the total, rather than a rate per thousand. The descriptive text in the system is defined mainly for rates.

Identifier:

R_IND_MIN

Name:

Mining

Type:

Rate (R)

Definition:

IND_SECTOR_5WAY:mining * 100.0 / INDUSTRY_TOT:total

Display as:

Continuous time series

Text:

Mining has never been a large part of the national economy. Even at its peak in the early 20th century it employed under 10% of the workforce, while in 2011 it employed about a quarter of a percent. In some localities it was enormously important and defined their character. Many communities grew up around particular mines and lacked alternative employment, so the industry's decline had a large human cost.

In 1841 mining was not totally dominated by coal. In Cornwall and in parts of the northern Pennines, in districts like Teesdale, it meant mining lead and tin. By 1881, coal was dominant and we start to see districts with around 50% of their workers in the sector. The industry peaked just before the First World War, with British coal being shipped around the world. By 1931 the industry was already in decline. Its geographical distribution was also changing, as old mining districts like Lancashire and Staffordshire began to run out of coal, and new pits were developed elsewhere. Rapid decline began in 1971, and by 2011 the remaining workers in the sector were mostly not in traditional mining areas at all.

Rate "Mining" is contained within:

Themes, which organise the database into broad topics:

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Rate "Mining" contains no lower-level entities.