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Overview of the economy of Cornouaille
Employment
At the time of the 1999 census, the district of Quimper numbered
125,648 people in active employment. The unemployment rate as
defined by the INSEE reached 11.5%, against 11.3% for Finistère
as a whole.
The total number of jobs offered by businesses in Cornouaille
is approximately 110,000. This figure is higher than the national
figure for agriculture and equivalent to that for industry due
to the strong presence of the food industry and heavy dependence
on fishing.
With 3,048 farms employing the equivalent of 4,680 full-time
workers, of which 3,635 are farmers or co-farmers, agriculture
in Cornouaille has a wide range of products. There is a lot of
movement within the agricultural sector as the number of farms
in Cornouaille halved between the censuses of 1988 and 2000. This
drop is higher in the south of the 'departement' than the north.
Fishing occupies a very important place in the economy of Cornouaille
with an annual production of 65,466 tonnes and a turnover of 190
million euros in 2001. Apart from the 3,200 fishermen, more than
8,500 jobs depend directly on the industry.
Industry in Cornouaille employs 21,376 people, i.e. 19% of the
total workforce. The food industry accounts for 50% of the jobs
in this sector in activities including raw and cooked meat, vegetables,
dairy products, fish and related products.
Finally, tertiary activities (trade and services) represent almost
67% of the total workforce. In this sector the specific needs
of Cornouaille concern major tourist assets (preserving cultural
identity, diversity of places of interest, the sea and related
activities, quality of accommodation). In 1997, an evaluation
of employment in tourism in the 'departement' placed the Quimper
zone in first place, above those of Brest and Morlaix, with 7,410
jobs in high season, i.e. 45% of the jobs in the tourism sector
throughout the 'departement'.
In the period between the two censuses, the number of jobs rose
by 4%, 3,975 more than in 1990. This positive movement is mostly
due to the increase in employment in the tertiary sector.
Working population
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Total working population (employees and self-employed) in
1999 |
125,648 |
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Rate of activity for those aged 20-59 in 1999 |
81.7% |
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Total unemployed in 1999 |
14,418 |
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Unemployment rate (as defined by INSEE) in 1999
(unemployed / total working population) |
11.5% |
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Total population in employment in 1999 |
111,230 |
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Total number of employees |
94,434 |
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Total number of self-employed |
16,796 |
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Source: INSEE, RGP99 (National Statistics Office)
Total employment 1999 per sector of activity
| Sectors of activity |
Number |
Cornouaille
% |
Finistère
% |
Bretagne
% |
France
(metropolitan) % |
| Agriculture and fishing |
7,692 |
7% |
8% |
9% |
4% |
| Industry |
21,376 |
19% |
17% |
18% |
18% |
| Construction |
6,727 |
6% |
6% |
7% |
6% |
| Tertiary |
73,880 |
67% |
70% |
67% |
72% |
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TOTAL
|
109,675 |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
Source: INSEE, RGP99 (National Statistics Office)
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