Businesses by Industry

The data used here, reported by the Office for National Statistics, is based on a snapshot of the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR).

The bar charts above show the proportion of businesses within each industry for different geographical areas for 2022. Slide 1 shows data for Somerset, the South West and the UK. Click to slide 2 to view data for lower-tier local authority areas within Somerset. Use the industry filter to select a particular industry. Right click on either chart to select and view the underlying data.

About the data

In terms of business numbers, the starkest differences are that Somerset has proportionally more agriculture, forestry, and fishing businesses, whilst regionally and nationally there are proportionally more businesses in professional, scientific and technical activities. In Somerset there are proportionally more manufacturing businesses.

It is important to remember, however, that business numbers are not in themselves indicative of the significance of a given industry to the economy. In order one needs to consider the contribution a given industry makes to jobs, economic output and productivity. This is dealt with under the ‘Industries & Sectors’ section of this website.

Source: ONS, NOMIS, UK Business Counts 2022.