If you are thinking of moving to South Shields or just want to know a what the area is like, the statistics on this page should give you a good introduction. They cover a range of socio-economic factors so you can compare South Shields to figures for South Tyneside and nationally. These statistics can tell you if South Shields is an economically deprived area and how hard it might be to get a job.
South Shields Benefits & Unemployment Statistics
After the introduction of Universal Credit, the government no longer publishes unemployment figures as a percentage of the working population and has no further plans to do so. They do however publish the number of Universal Credit claimants in every local district council. We have taken the LDC that includes South Shields and compared it to the nearest councils. Please be aware that Universal Credit is a in and out of work benefit. Therefore these figures are an indicator of BOTH unemployment and underemployment. South Shields is in the local authority with the lowest number of Universal Credit claimants in the area.
These figures below on the claiming of legacy benefits in South Shields are dated . They are the last published statistics of unemployment rates as a percentage of the population. Althpugh outdated, these statistics can often be a good indicator of the prosperity of the town and how hard it could be to get employment in the area.The rate of unemployment in South Shields is both higher than the average for and higher than the national average, suggesting that finding a job in this area maybe hard. The rate of claiming any benefit (which includes in work benefits) is more than 25% higher in South Shields than the national average, suggesting that many people maybe under employed or on a low salary.
| Benefit | South Tyneside | England |
|---|---|---|
| Jobseekers Allowance (only) | 6.7% | 3.3% |
| Incapacity Benefits (IB or ESA) | 3.8% | 2.4% |
| Any Benefit (includes in work benefits) | 21.7% | 13.5% |
Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2019
South Shields Property Ownership & Rental Statistics
South Shields has a lower rate of home ownership (via a mortgage or owned outright) than the national average, which suggests that South Shields is an economically deprived area.
| Tenure | South Tyneside | England |
|---|---|---|
| Owned | 25.3% | 30.6% |
| Mortgage | 31.8% | 32.8% |
| Shared | 0.4% | 0.8% |
| Social Rented (Council) | 25.3% | 9.4% |
| Social Rented (Housing Assoc) | 6.3% | 8.3% |
| Private Rented | 9% | 15.4% |
| Other | 1.1% | 1.4% |
| Rent Free | 0.9% | 1.3% |
South Shields Social Grade & Occcupation Statistics
Social grade is a classification based on occupation and it enables a household and all its members to be classified according to the job of the main income earner. South Shields has 20% less Higher and Intermediate managerial, administrative or professional households than the national average.
| Grade | South Tyneside | England |
|---|---|---|
| AB | 13.68% | 22.96% |
| C1 | 28.56% | 30.92% |
| C2 | 23.02% | 20.64% |
| DE | 34.74% | 25.49% |
South Shields Immigration Statistics
These figures for Country of Birth for the residents of South Shields are from the UK Census of 2011. Since South Shields has a higher level of residents born in the UK than the national average and a lower rate of residents either born in other EU countries or outside the EU, it does not have a significant immigrant population.
| Country | South Tyneside | England |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 96.6% | 86.2% |
| Rebublic of Ireland | 0.1% | 0.7% |
| Other EU Countries | 0.8% | 3.7% |
| Outside the EU | 2.4% | 9.4% |
South Shields General Health Statistics
The respondents of the 2011 Census were asked to rate their health. These are the results for South Shields. The percentage of residents in South Shields rating their health as 'very good' is less than the national average. Also the percentage of residents in South Shields rating their health as 'very bad' is more than the national average, suggesting that the health of the residents of South Shields is generally worse than in the average person in England.
| Health | South Tyneside | England |
|---|---|---|
| Very Good | 42.76% | 47.17% |
| Good | 32.99% | 34.22% |
| Fair | 16.00% | 13.12% |
| Bad | 6.34% | 4.25% |
| Very Bad | 1.91% | 1.25% |
South Shields Age Distribution Statistics
The population of South Shields as a whole, is older than the national average. The population of South Shields is also older than the average, making South Shields a older persons location.
| Age | South Tyneside | England |
|---|---|---|
| Age 0 to 4 | 5.5% | 6.3% |
| Age 5 to 9 | 5.1% | 5.6% |
| Age 10 to14 | 5.6% | 5.8% |
| Age 15 to 17 | 3.8% | 3.7% |
| Age 18 to 24 | 9% | 9.4% |
| Age 25 to 29 | 6% | 6.9% |
| Age 30 to 44 | 18.5% | 20.6% |
| Age 45 to 59 | 21.9% | 19.4% |
| Age 60 to 64 | 6.5% | 6% |
| Age 65 to 74 | 9.2% | 8.6% |
| Age 75 to 84 | 6.5% | 5.5% |
| Age 85 and over | 2.4% | 2.3% |
| Mean Age | 41.2 | 39.3 |
| Median Age | 42 | 39 |
South Shields Education Statistics
These statistics are for the highest level education obtained by the residents of South Shields and are from the UK Census of 2011. South Shields has a high level of residents with either no qualifications or qualifications equal to 1 or more GCSE at grade D or below, than the national average.
| Qualification | South Tyneside | England |
|---|---|---|
| No Qualifications | 28% | 22.5% |
| Level 1 | 14.6% | 13.3% |
| Level 2 | 16.2% | 15.2% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.1% | 3.6% |
| Level 3 | 12% | 12.4% |
| Level 4 | 19.2% | 27.4% |
| Other | 3.9% | 5.7% |
Sources: Office for National Statistics & Department for Work & Pensions.
