Jobs in Peterborough | Pictures of Peterborough

The cathedral city of Peterborough is currently experiencing an economic boom that has positioned it as the most successful economy in the East of England – having jostled for the title with Luton for a number of years. Since being designated a New Town in 1968, Peterborough 's population has continued to soar and so too has its business community.

Indeed, the city is one of the UK 's leading centres for new business start-ups and expansion. Several decades of rapid growth has created a rich, diverse and vibrant city that has a successful track record in attracting businesses to the region and firmly established its status as one of the strongest economies in the country.

Then and now
For almost 800 years Peterborough passed through history in unremarkable fashion, existing as little more than a market town until the defunct Abbey was re-classified as a cathedral, thereby making Peterborough a ‘city' – albeit a small one even by the standards of the time standing at just 1,500 people. But the mid nineteenth century an iron, brick making and elastic webbing manufacturing sector had evolved and the arrival of the railways saw Peterborough quickly become one of the most important industrial centre of the East of England. And by 1901 the population of Peterborough stood at around 30,000.

However, the city's fortunes were to change irrevocably when the Government included Peterborough in its New Town scheme – a scheme designed to plans to relieve the housing congestion in London . Despite already having a significant population of over 80,000 people, it was decided to double this to about 160,000 and in 1968, a Development Corporation was formed to build three new suburban areas, Bretton, Orton and Castor.

In common with the national decline in manufacturing and heavy industry, employment within these sectors has fallen in recent years and Peterborough has diversified as a post-industrial service economy. Indeed, around 80 per cent of all employment opportunities in the city are in the service sector, whilst fewer than 15 per cent can still be found in manufacturing and industry with the likes of British Sugar, Indesit, Perkins Engines and Peter Brotherhood Limited providing the bulk of these jobs.

Leading the way in the service economy is the public sector. As the population of Peterborough has continued to grow over the last few years, so too has the number of job vacancies that have arisen within the fields of public administration, health and education. Today, this sector employs around 25 per cent of the local workforce with Peterborough City Council and Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust being two of the biggest employers across all sectors in the city – the latter employing more than 3,000 staff alone.

Peterborough 's retail sector is also enjoying a boom which has been stimulated by the £1bn regeneration of the city centre. Often described as a ‘shopping-mad' city, Peterborough already has an extensive shopping option and has plans for a new retail, leisure and entertainment hub at North Westgate which will include a flagship Marks & Spencer. At present, around 11 per cent of the local workforce plies their trade in the retail sector.

Being the fastest growing economy in the East of England, Peterborough has seen a significant growth in the number of new business start-ups and existing business expansions in recent years. And spearheading this drive forward is the financial and professional services sector which has become one of the key economic drivers in Peterborough . Responsible for around 11 per cent of the workforce, demand for jobs in this sector will inevitably rise as the population continues to soar, with Peterborough continuing to boast an impressive portfolio of leading organisations in the area including the head office for Churchill Insurance which employs 900 staff, the Norwich & Peterborough Building Society and BNP Paribas. Elsewhere, Barclays Personal Investment Management which employs 450 staff, Diligenta business process outsourcing specialists, and BGL, one of the largest personal lines intermediaries in the UK and parent company of Budget Insurance, with1,200 workers.

Anglian Water is at the forefront of Peterborough 's pursuit to become the UK centre for environmental industries. Indeed, Anglian Water's Thorpe Wood offices are focused on a large number of Sites of Special Scientific Interest and other areas of vulnerability such as wetlands and rivers. And their work is complemented by a number of organisations which include Peter Brotherhood Limited, an organisation that specialises in providing efficient and environmentally friendly solutions in the conversion and use of energy. Peterborough Environment City Trust, Natural England and the Environment Agency also contribute to a sector that currently supports more than 4,500 jobs in the local area and account for over 5 per cent of the city's GDP.

What Anglian Water is doing for the environmental sector, EMAP is doing for the media sector. Having been based in the city for a number of years, EMAP is one of one of the leading magazine publishers in the UK and also one of the biggest employers in Peterborough . But there are also a number of smaller companies specialising in the fields of website design, newspaper publishing, TV and radio which employ thousands of people in the area.

Aside from the five key sectors above, there are a number of other employment industries which despite employing fewer numbers are vital contributors to the local economy. Whereas, travel companies Thomas Cook and Travelex are both headquartered in the city, with the former employing more than 1,500 people.

Key business districts
The central business and commercial district is concentrated in and around the city centre of Peterborough . Elsewhere, there are a number of business and industrial parks on the outskirts of the main centre, including the new Eagle Park project, in Broadway, along with Peterborough Business Park and Minerva Business Park .

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

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

Looking for local vacancies? See all current jobs in Peterborough or find out more information on the local area.