Jobs in Crawley | Pictures of Crawley

Sandwiched between London to the north and Brighton to the south is Crawley, a town that plodded through history in unremarkable fashion until the post-war Government identified it as one of the ideal sites for its ‘new town’ development programme. Since then Crawley’s population has increased more than ten-fold to become one of the leading distribution and financial hubs in the country – an achievement mirrored by the town’s motto, I Grow and I Rejoice.

Then and now
There have been settlements in Crawley since Roman and Saxon times and throughout the centuries it grew slowly as a modest market town. But the town’s fortunes changed significantly upon the construction of the turnpike road linking London with the increasingly fashionable seaside resort at Brighton (28 miles north and 18 miles south respectively). The road passed through the heart of Crawley and it soon became the obvious halfway point between the two cities and by the mid-nineteenth century, the railways came to town and soon became the biggest employer in the area after agriculture. This attracted workers from across the region and the population had quickly rose to around 4,500 by 1901 – almost three times the number in 1801.

However, Crawley’s physical landscape changed beyond recognition in the post-war aftermath when the government introduced its new plans to relieve the housing congestion in London and stimulate the economy in other areas, having learned from its vulnerability of centralising the bulk of economic activity in the capital. As such, Crawley was designated a ‘new town’ and within the subsequent sixty years, the town has swelled from just 9,500 in 1946 to a population of around 101,000 by 2007 with the focus on establishing Crawley as a leading centre for manufacturing and light industry in the South East.

Indeed, the opening of Gatwick Airport on Crawley’s doorstep provided the catalyst for economic growth in the area which subsequently stimulated the rapid growth of the aviation, transport, warehousing and distribution industries in the area. Today the town contributes more than 37 per cent to the West Sussex economy.

Despite modern Crawley’s economy being largely founded on manufacturing, this sector’s importance and dominance has been reduced over the years, as per the national trend. And today manufacturing stands fourth in terms of employment generation with around 600 companies proving employment for about 20,000 workers in the area, including BOC Edwards, Thales flight simulator manufacturer, APV Vent Axia UK and Uniliver – which has its UK head office in Crawley.

Instead, the distribution sector has become the mainstay of the local economy. With one of the world’s largest airports on the edge of the town, the assumption follows that the area has a significant number of distribution and logistics companies based there. And it does. British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Alpha Flight Services and Tui are all based here who - combined with the number of hotels and restaurants serving international travellers as well as the local residents – are responsible for some of the 44,000 jobs that can be found within this sector.

Given the town’s close proximity to the capital and the recent trend for businesses to relocate some of their operations away from their traditional centres in London, Crawley has become a hub for the financial sector.

Indeed, Crawley has one of the highest concentrations of banking, insurance and finance companies outside London and is responsible for some 40,000 jobs in the area, with the likes of Deloitte & Touche and B & CE Benefit Schemes based in the town.

This is followed by the third largest employment sector in Crawley: the public sector. As the administrative centre for the wider Borough, more than 32,000 people are employed in the fields of public administration, health and education with Crawley Borough Council being by far the largest single employer within this sector.

And equally significant as an employer and as an economic driver is the transport and communication sector. Employing approximately 30,000 workers, this sector ranks above manufacturing in terms of employee numbers and sits in fourth place, with the likes of British Airways Cargo, First Choice Holidays, Gatwick Express, Metrobus and William Reed Group sustaining the bulk of the jobs.

Since the Second World War, unemployment in Crawley has been low and during the boom of the 1980s the town boasted the lowest level of unemployment in the South East region. Overall, continuous growth and investment have made Crawley one of the most important business and employment centre in the South East England region.

Key business districts
While Crawley occupies one of the smallest land areas, occupying just 2.2 per of the West Sussex area and 2.9 per cent of the Gatwick ‘Diamond’ area, it accounts for almost a quarter of the commercial space of West Sussex and approaching 30 per cent of the commercial space of the Gatwick Diamond.

Town Mead, Station Way, Haslett Avenue/Spindle Way, Maidenbower neighbourhood centre, Fernhill Road, West of Astral Towers, Maidenbower and Langley Walk are the areas where offices in the city are set.

If you're thinking of moving to the area, take a look at some of the current property available to buy or let in Crawley.

Take a closer look
A picture is worth a thousand words. You can see some images from in and around Crawley below.

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