NEW figures from the census shows how most people are employed in the former council area of Copeland.

The 2021 Census includes one of the most comprehensive pictures of the work people do in England and Wales.

Office for National Statistics figures show Copeland residents were most commonly working as sales and retail assistants when the census was carried out in 2021, with 1,155 employees in the sector.

This is equivalent to one in 34 working-age people in the area – defined by the ONS as aged between 16 and 64.

Sales and retail assistants were followed by 1,105 people working as care workers and home carers, and 865 as cleaners and domestic workers.

Research by the ONS suggests some jobs may be dying out across England and Wales – for instance, the age profile of typists and bookbinders is far older than those carrying out data entry and analysis.

There have been warnings in recent years certain jobs may be automated out of existence, as new technology simplifies repetitive tasks in both manual and office settings.

James Reed, chairman of the jobs website Reed.co.uk, said there are reasons to be optimistic about the future job market in Copeland.

He said: "Sales professionals who can build genuine relationships, healthcare providers tending to the needs of our ageing population, and educators shaping young minds – these will continue to be popular and coveted vocations.

"While technology propels us forwards, this is not to say that our innate human qualities will become redundant in the pursuit of meaningful and important work," he added.

The figures further show around 2,770 Copeland residents were working in the broader category of managers, directors and senior officials in Copeland – the most highly skilled job category according to the ONS.

Meanwhile, 3,735 were working in so-called 'elementary' occupations, defined as requiring the least amount of education or training.

This means 9.6 per cent of the working-age population were in very low-skilled roles.

Across England and Wales, sales and retail jobs were the most common, with around 1.1 million workers, followed by more than 800,000 people employed in the care sector.