This covers accounting year ends between December 2024 and April 2025 (the median year end is mid-February 2025). This median period captures the recovery from the 2023 recession. We compare this period with the same period the previous year, which covers the effects of the unfolding cost of living crisis.
Research and evidence
We aim to invest in projects and programmes that deliver against our objectives.
To make the right investments, we use evidence and research to understand the key opportunities and barriers to growth in the area.
The sectoral employment analysis programme is being undertaken by the Centre for Business Research (CBR), funded by us and Cambridge Ahead. The research analyses the growth of employment in different sectors across Greater Cambridge, giving local partners robust, timely data on local sectors and businesses. It takes the form of updates, analysing data drawn from company accounts over time, designed specifically to understand the challenges facing specific local sectors over the coming months.
Greater Cambridge sectoral employment analysis
November 2025
June 2025
The twelfth analysis of the growth of corporate employment in the Greater Cambridge area was released in June 2025. It covers accounting year ends between May 2024 and December 2024 (the median year end is mid-October). This period is compared with the same period in the previous year, which looks at the challenging economic conditions the area is facing.
October 2024
The eleventh analysis of the growth of corporate employment in the Greater Cambridge area was released in October 2024. It covers accounting year ends between December 2023 and April 2024 (the median year end is mid-February 2024). This period captures the impacts of recession and the resilience of businesses in the area.
April 2024
The tenth update was released in April 2024. The data is obtained by sampling the CBR annual corporate database of all businesses based in the wider Cambridge region. It covers a large sample of companies representing over 67% of corporate employment in Greater Cambridge. The median period captures the impact of the onset of recession in the second half of 2023.
October 2023
The ninth update was released in October 2023. The data is obtained by sampling the CBR annual corporate database of all businesses based in the wider Cambridge region, representing 66% of corporate employment in Greater Cambridge. This median period captures the impact of the worsening UK’s cost of living crisis on the recovery from covid.
April 2023
The eighth update was finalised in April 2023, covering accounting year ends between May 2022 and December 2022 (the median year end is mid-October 2022). This median period captures the impact of the war in the Ukraine and the recovery from covid. The next update will be published in autumn 2023.
October 2022
The seventh update was released in October 2022. The new data is obtained by sampling the Centre for Business Research’s annual corporate database of all businesses based in the wider Cambridge region. It covers a large sample of companies representing 59% of corporate employment in Greater Cambridge. The next update will be published in February 2023.
June 2022
The sixth update was released in June 2022 and the data covers the period between April 2021 and December 2021 (the median year end is August 2021).
February 2022
The fifth update was released in April 2022. The data covers the period between December 2020 and April 2021 (the median year end is March 2021). The next update, will cast light on the effects of the unwinding of the unprecedented furlough support package as this could have implications for corporate employment changes.
October 2021
The fourth update was released in December 2021 and the new data covers the period between October 2020 and April 2021. At headline level, findings outline the resilience of knowledge intensive sectors, ensuring employment rates in Greater Cambridge continued to grow despite the challenges of covid-19.
June 2021
The third update from the Greater Cambridge sectoral employment analysis was finalised in June and analyses data from accounting year ends between 6 April 2020 and 31 December 2020. The new data gives some headline figures on the impact of covid-19 on our sectors. At headline level the findings outline the strong performance of the Greater Cambridge corporate economy
February 2021
The second update, finalised in February 2021, analysed data from accounting year ends between 31 March 2020 and 31 August 2020 (to a median year end of April 2020). The February update is available to download below. It presents insights capturing on average the first three months of the Covid-19 pandemic, building our evidence base on the impact of the pandemic on local employment
November 2020
The first update, finalised in November 2020, analysed data from accounting year ends between 30 November 2019 and 31 May 2020 (to a median year end of December 2019). The November update is available to download below. It provides a robust picture of the performance of local sectors just prior to, or just at, the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, providing a baseline for a unique evidence base on the impact of Covid-19 on local sectors.
November 2025
This covers accounting year ends between December 2024 and April 2025 (the median year end is mid-February 2025). This median period captures the recovery from the 2023 recession. We compare this period with the same period the previous year, which covers the effects of the unfolding cost of living crisis.
June 2025
The twelfth analysis of the growth of corporate employment in the Greater Cambridge area was released in June 2025. It covers accounting year ends between May 2024 and December 2024 (the median year end is mid-October). This period is compared with the same period in the previous year, which looks at the challenging economic conditions the area is facing.
October 2024
The eleventh analysis of the growth of corporate employment in the Greater Cambridge area was released in October 2024. It covers accounting year ends between December 2023 and April 2024 (the median year end is mid-February 2024). This period captures the impacts of recession and the resilience of businesses in the area.
April 2024
The tenth update was released in April 2024. The data is obtained by sampling the CBR annual corporate database of all businesses based in the wider Cambridge region. It covers a large sample of companies representing over 67% of corporate employment in Greater Cambridge. The median period captures the impact of the onset of recession in the second half of 2023.
October 2023
The ninth update was released in October 2023. The data is obtained by sampling the CBR annual corporate database of all businesses based in the wider Cambridge region, representing 66% of corporate employment in Greater Cambridge. This median period captures the impact of the worsening UK’s cost of living crisis on the recovery from covid.
April 2023
The eighth update was finalised in April 2023, covering accounting year ends between May 2022 and December 2022 (the median year end is mid-October 2022). This median period captures the impact of the war in the Ukraine and the recovery from covid. The next update will be published in autumn 2023.
October 2022
The seventh update was released in October 2022. The new data is obtained by sampling the Centre for Business Research’s annual corporate database of all businesses based in the wider Cambridge region. It covers a large sample of companies representing 59% of corporate employment in Greater Cambridge. The next update will be published in February 2023.
June 2022
The sixth update was released in June 2022 and the data covers the period between April 2021 and December 2021 (the median year end is August 2021).
February 2022
The fifth update was released in April 2022. The data covers the period between December 2020 and April 2021 (the median year end is March 2021). The next update, will cast light on the effects of the unwinding of the unprecedented furlough support package as this could have implications for corporate employment changes.
October 2021
The fourth update was released in December 2021 and the new data covers the period between October 2020 and April 2021. At headline level, findings outline the resilience of knowledge intensive sectors, ensuring employment rates in Greater Cambridge continued to grow despite the challenges of covid-19.
June 2021
The third update from the Greater Cambridge sectoral employment analysis was finalised in June and analyses data from accounting year ends between 6 April 2020 and 31 December 2020. The new data gives some headline figures on the impact of covid-19 on our sectors. At headline level the findings outline the strong performance of the Greater Cambridge corporate economy
February 2021
The second update, finalised in February 2021, analysed data from accounting year ends between 31 March 2020 and 31 August 2020 (to a median year end of April 2020). The February update is available to download below. It presents insights capturing on average the first three months of the Covid-19 pandemic, building our evidence base on the impact of the pandemic on local employment
November 2020
The first update, finalised in November 2020, analysed data from accounting year ends between 30 November 2019 and 31 May 2020 (to a median year end of December 2019). The November update is available to download below. It provides a robust picture of the performance of local sectors just prior to, or just at, the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, providing a baseline for a unique evidence base on the impact of Covid-19 on local sectors.
November 2025
This covers accounting year ends between December 2024 and April 2025 (the median year end is mid-February 2025). This median period captures the recovery from the 2023 recession. We compare this period with the same period the previous year, which covers the effects of the unfolding cost of living crisis.
June 2025
The twelfth analysis of the growth of corporate employment in the Greater Cambridge area was released in June 2025. It covers accounting year ends between May 2024 and December 2024 (the median year end is mid-October). This period is compared with the same period in the previous year, which looks at the challenging economic conditions the area is facing.
October 2024
The eleventh analysis of the growth of corporate employment in the Greater Cambridge area was released in October 2024. It covers accounting year ends between December 2023 and April 2024 (the median year end is mid-February 2024). This period captures the impacts of recession and the resilience of businesses in the area.
April 2024
The tenth update was released in April 2024. The data is obtained by sampling the CBR annual corporate database of all businesses based in the wider Cambridge region. It covers a large sample of companies representing over 67% of corporate employment in Greater Cambridge. The median period captures the impact of the onset of recession in the second half of 2023.
October 2023
The ninth update was released in October 2023. The data is obtained by sampling the CBR annual corporate database of all businesses based in the wider Cambridge region, representing 66% of corporate employment in Greater Cambridge. This median period captures the impact of the worsening UK’s cost of living crisis on the recovery from covid.
April 2023
The eighth update was finalised in April 2023, covering accounting year ends between May 2022 and December 2022 (the median year end is mid-October 2022). This median period captures the impact of the war in the Ukraine and the recovery from covid. The next update will be published in autumn 2023.
October 2022
The seventh update was released in October 2022. The new data is obtained by sampling the Centre for Business Research’s annual corporate database of all businesses based in the wider Cambridge region. It covers a large sample of companies representing 59% of corporate employment in Greater Cambridge. The next update will be published in February 2023.
June 2022
The sixth update was released in June 2022 and the data covers the period between April 2021 and December 2021 (the median year end is August 2021).
February 2022
The fifth update was released in April 2022. The data covers the period between December 2020 and April 2021 (the median year end is March 2021). The next update, will cast light on the effects of the unwinding of the unprecedented furlough support package as this could have implications for corporate employment changes.
October 2021
The fourth update was released in December 2021 and the new data covers the period between October 2020 and April 2021. At headline level, findings outline the resilience of knowledge intensive sectors, ensuring employment rates in Greater Cambridge continued to grow despite the challenges of covid-19.
June 2021
The third update from the Greater Cambridge sectoral employment analysis was finalised in June and analyses data from accounting year ends between 6 April 2020 and 31 December 2020. The new data gives some headline figures on the impact of covid-19 on our sectors. At headline level the findings outline the strong performance of the Greater Cambridge corporate economy
February 2021
The second update, finalised in February 2021, analysed data from accounting year ends between 31 March 2020 and 31 August 2020 (to a median year end of April 2020). The February update is available to download below. It presents insights capturing on average the first three months of the Covid-19 pandemic, building our evidence base on the impact of the pandemic on local employment
November 2020
The first update, finalised in November 2020, analysed data from accounting year ends between 30 November 2019 and 31 May 2020 (to a median year end of December 2019). The November update is available to download below. It provides a robust picture of the performance of local sectors just prior to, or just at, the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, providing a baseline for a unique evidence base on the impact of Covid-19 on local sectors.