PACEC has developed a Local Economic Profiling System (LEPS) to support the preparation of Local Economic Assessments and help develop strategies. LEPS provides clients with a powerful capability to analyse their local economies and identify strengths and weaknesses relative to their geographical surroundings, their neighbours and competitors, and the national economy as a whole.
LEPS draws upon over a hundred economic and social indicators. Outputs include data tables, charts, and maps. LEPS adds value to datasets published by the ONS and other sources, and utilises data going back to 1971 to provide long term trends. Key themes include the following:
- Trends and forecasts in full-time and part-time employment and self-employment
- Population trends and forecasts
- Cluster analysis by 101 industrial sectors
- Unemployment, skills, and vacancies
- Average earnings
- Local-level estimates of Gross Value Added
- Productivity (GVA/job), including adjustments for local industrial structure
- Deprivation, health, and crime
LEPS permits custom geographical areas to be defined from their component local authority districts, permitting the analysis of areas such as Local Economic Partnerships, City Regions and subregions, and metropolitan and shire counties.
LEPS also provides a unique capability in economic forecasting for employment, population and labour supply, and the preparation of scenarios.
Economic Forecasting
All organisations must deal effectively with change and plan for the future. Knowledge of the speed, direction and level of change in regional and local economies is vital. To meet the challenge PACEC's modelling capability and bottom-up approach provides accurate and reliable customised forecasts. The economic issues on which we base our forecasts include the following:
- Identifying key trends
- Anticipating change in the business environment: technology, markets, regulations, etc
- Assessing impact of events or initiatives
- Scenario options and development
- National and local structural change
- Regional and local economic performance
- The activities and intentions of firms
- Commercial property markets
- Consumer purchasing intentions