Cheshire West and Chester has a strong and diverse employment land portfolio which plays an important role in supporting economic growth across the borough. The Cheshire West and Chester Economic Needs Assessment identifies a requirement for approximately 198 hectares of employment land over a 20-year period, the vast majority of which relates to industrial, warehousing and distribution uses. The assessment identifies Ellesmere Port as the borough's principle strategic employment location, alongside Northwich and Winsford.
As of 1 April 2026, around 122 hectares of employment land benefited from planning permission, with approximately 88% comprising industrial, storage, distribution and specialist employment uses. Depending on the final plan period, this leaves a residual employment land requirement of between 27 and 76 hectares. Existing permissions and allocations indicate a continued supply of employment land across the borough, although the evidence identifies a shortage of larger strategic employment sites within the 10 to 20 hectare and 25 hectare plus size ranges.
Since 2010, approximately 269 hectares of employment land has been completed across Cheshire West and Chester, including 17.7 hectares during the 2025/26 monitoring period. Delivery has concentrated in Ellesmere Port, which has accounted for almost half of all completed employment land and continues to function as the borough's primary strategic employment location.
There remains a substantial supply of committed employment land through existing permissions and allocations in the borough.
The Cheshire West and Chester unemployment rate for January 2025 - December 2025 was 3.20%. This is below the national average of 4.50% during that time period.
In December 2025 the number of borough residents in employment was 81.2% and remains higher than both the national and regional levels of employment. The borough also has a skilled workforce with data showing that 52.9% of the population are qualified to degree level and above (RQF 4+). CWaC levels remain higher than regional and national averages with the percentage of people with no qualifications also being below regional and national levels.
Earnings increased in 2025, although the gap between resident and workplace earnings also widened. Residents of Cheshire West and Chester earned an average of £798.40 per week, while the average earnings for jobs located within the borough were £729.70 per week. This results in an earnings gap of £68.70 per week, suggesting that many residents access higher-paid employment opportunities outside the borough, while some of the jobs located within Cheshire West and Chester are lower paid than those held by its residents.
The number of businesses in Cheshire West and Chester in 2024 was 13,590. In this context, business numbers are based on the Business demography, UK - Office for National Statistics dataset and include enterprises registered for VAT and/or PAYE. The figures therefore represent registered businesses operating within the borough and may exclude some smaller unregistered businesses and self-employed individuals. Since 2019 there has been a decrease in the number of businesses in the borough. Business numbers fell from 14,270 in 2019 to 13,590 in 2024. Cheshire West and Chester saw 1,450 new businesses register in 2024 and 1,315 businesses ceasing trading during the same period.
Travel to work areas have been considered in the Economic Needs Assessment (2025) to inform assessment of the Functional Economic Market Area (FEMA). Whilst Cheshire West and Chester is a self-contained FEMA, it has strong economic, employment and transport links with neighbouring authorities, including Flintshire, Wrexham, Warrington, Cheshire East, the Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester. These cross boundary relationships influence commuting patterns, labour supply and business activity, highlighting the borough’s role within a wider sub-regional economy. In total the 2021 Census states that there are 169,090 residents in employment in Cheshire West and Chester. Of these, 132,381 work in Cheshire West and Chester (including those working from home). This is the equivalent of a residents-based self-containment rate of 78.3%. This exceeds the 75% threshold used by ONS to define Travel to Work areas. This, alongside other indicators, suggests that the Cheshire West and Chester FEMA is self-contained. However, it is important to consider the sub-areas of the borough and differences between the east and west. Northwich and Winsford have less reliance on Chester in terms of commuting.
In 2024 there were a total of 176,000 residents in paid work, with 118,000 in full-time employment and 58,000 in part-time employment. This is an increase of 7,000 from 2023 where there were 169,000 residents in paid work, with 113,000 in full-time work and 56,000 in part-time work. This increase in employment could be in line with the economic growth in the borough.