Editing Swansea (section)

==Economy==
{{Main|Economy of Swansea}}
[[File:Technium from sainsbury.JPG|thumb|The Technium centre, one of the first of the new buildings built as part of the SA1 development scheme at Swansea Docks]]
[[File:Technium Square Swansea - geograph.org.uk - 1605758.jpg|thumb|Part of the Swansea Waterfront developments]]

Swansea originally developed as centre for [[metals]] and mining, especially the copper industry, from the beginning of the 18th century. The industry reached its apogee in the 1880s, when 60% of the copper ores imported to Britain were smelted in the [[Lower Swansea valley]].<ref>Jenkins, P (1992) A History of Modern Wales 1536–1990. Harlow: Longman.</ref> However, by the end of the [[Second World War]] these heavy industries were in decline, and over the post-war decades Swansea shared in the general trend towards a post-industrial, [[service sector]] economy.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Joseph |first=S. Gordon|title=Swansea and Cardiff: Industry and Amenity |date=1959 |journal=Official Architecture and Planning |volume=22 |issue=6 |pages=257–264|jstor=44128324}}</ref>

Of the 105,900 people estimated to work within the City and County of Swansea, over 90% are employed in the service sectors, with relatively high shares (compared to the Welsh and UK averages) in ''public administration, education & health'' and ''banking, finance & insurance'',<ref name="Profile Oct 08">{{cite web |url=http://www.swansea.gov.uk/media/pdf/9/g/Swansea_Economic_Profile_Oct08.pdf |title=Swansea Economic Profile October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327121427/http://www.swansea.gov.uk/media/pdf/9/g/Swansea_Economic_Profile_Oct08.pdf |archive-date=27 March 2009}}</ref> and correspondingly high proportions of employment in occupations associated with the service sector, including professional, administrative/secretarial and sales/customer service occupations. The local authority believes this pattern reflects Swansea's role as a service centre for South West Wales.<ref name="Profile Oct 08"/>

Economic activity and employment rates in Swansea were slightly above the Welsh average in October 2008, but lower than the UK average.<ref name="Profile Oct 08"/> In 2005, [[Gross value added|GVA]] per head in Swansea was £14,302&nbsp;– nearly 4% above the Welsh average but 20% below the UK average.<ref name="Profile Oct 08"/> Median full-time earnings in Swansea were £21,577 in 2007, almost identical to the Welsh average.<ref name="Profile Oct 08"/>

Swansea is home to the [[DVLA]] headquarters in [[Morriston]], which employs around 6,000 people in the city. Other major employers in the city are [[Admiral Group]], [[HSBC]], [[Virgin Media]], [[Swansea Bay University Health Board]], [[BT Group|BT]] and [[Amazon.co.uk]]. [[Virgin Atlantic]] also maintains its largest worldwide contact centre in Swansea; including reservations, sales, baggage claims and customer relations.