Inner Moray Firth - economic profile

In 2009, the population of the Inner Moray Firth was 144,375, which is an increase of 8.1% since 2001. This compares to a 3.1% increase overall in the Highlands and Islands and a 2.5% increase in Scotland.

Unemployment in the Inner Moray Firth had been consistently below the Highlands and Islands average prior to 20091. However, the impact of the recession in the area appears to have been more marked than in the Highlands and Islands as a whole, but not as pronounced as in Scotland.

Within the area, the Inverness and Dingwall TTWAs appear to have been the most affected, while Badenoch has been less affected, with a good tourism season playing an important part in this.

The female dominated sector of public administration, education and health is the largest employment sector, accounting for over
30% of all employees in 2008. The banking, finance and insurance sector accounts for a greater share of employees in the area (16.0%) than in the Highlands and Islands (12%).

Businesses employing 50 people or more accounted for a larger proportion of employees in the Inner Moray Firth (50%) than in the Highlands and Islands (42%) in 2008.

Business start-ups in the Inner Moray Firth were also higher than average. There were 4.8 new start-ups per 1,000 of the population in the area in 2008 compared to 4.0 in the Highlands and Islands.

In 2007/08, educational attainment levels were higher in the Inner Moray Firth than in Scotland by the end of both S4 and S6, and a higher proportion of school leavers progressed to Higher Education.

House prices have been rising rapidly in recent years. The median house price in the Inner Moray Firth in 2008 was £140,000 compared to £117,750 in the Highlands and Islands and £114,500 in Scotland.

Further information on the economy of the Inner Moray Firth area is available in our area profile report.