Editing Kent (section)

==Economy==
[[File:StreetFarmOastFrittendenKent(ValVannet)Apr2006.jpg|thumb|right|Converted [[oast house]]s at [[Frittenden]]]]
At the [[United Kingdom Census 2001|2001 UK census]]{{Fix|text=out of date}},<ref name="Statistics.gov.uk">{{cite web |title=Neighbourhood Statistics |publisher=Statistics.gov.uk |url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=3567663&c=Kent&d=180&e=13&g=456741&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1367781204136&enc=1&dsFamilyId=75 |access-date=5 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130731061740/http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=3567663&c=Kent&d=180&e=13&g=456741&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1367781204136&enc=1&dsFamilyId=75 |archive-date=31 July 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> employment statistics for the residents in Kent, including Medway, were as follows: 41.1% in full-time employment, 12.4% in part-time employment, 9.1% self-employed, 2.9% unemployed, 2.3% students with jobs, 3.7% students without jobs, 12.3% retired, 7.3% looking after home or family, 4.3% permanently sick or disabled, and 2.7% economically inactive for other reasons. Of residents aged 16–74, 16% had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared to 20% nationwide.<ref name="Statistics.gov.uk"/>

The average hours worked per week by residents of Kent were 43.1 for males and 30.9 for females. Their industry of employment was 17.3% retail, 12.4% manufacturing, 11.8% real estate, 10.3% health and social work, 8.9% construction, 8.2% transport and communications, 7.9% education, 6.0% public administration and defence, 5.6% finance, 4.8% other community and personal service activities, 4.1% hotels and restaurants, 1.6% agriculture, 0.8% energy and water supply, 0.2% mining, and 0.1% private households. This is higher than the whole of England for construction and transport/communications and lower for manufacturing.

Kent is sometimes known as the "Garden of England" for its abundance of orchards and [[Hops|hop]] gardens. In particular the county produces tree-grown fruits,<ref>{{cite report |publisher=Kent County Council |title=Climate Change Risk and Impact Assessment for Kent and Medway – Part 2: Agriculture Sector Summary |date=June 2020 |url=https://www.kent.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/111382/CCRIA-for-Kent-and-Medway-part-two-agricultural-sector-summary.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307121755/https://www.kent.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/111382/CCRIA-for-Kent-and-Medway-part-two-agricultural-sector-summary.pdf |archive-date=7 March 2021 }}</ref> strawberries and hazelnuts.<ref name="hazelnut">{{cite web |title = Hazelnut and walnut production |publisher = Calu |url = http://www.agmrc.org/media/cms/050402Cobnutsandwalnuts_5A03AFB4B3709.pdf |access-date=15 January 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130421151214/http://www.agmrc.org/media/cms/050402Cobnutsandwalnuts_5A03AFB4B3709.pdf |archive-date=21 April 2013 }}</ref> Distinctive hop-drying buildings called [[oast house|oasts]] are common in the countryside, although many have been converted into dwellings. Nearer to London, market gardens also flourish. Kent is the main area for [[hazelnut]] production in the UK.

However, in recent years, there has been a significant drop in agriculture, and industry and services are increasing their utilisation of the area. This is illustrated by the following table of economic indicator [[gross value added]] (GVA) between 1995 and 2003{{Fix|text=out of date}} (figures are in £ millions):<ref name="dunge">{{cite web |title=Regional Gross Value Added |publisher=Office for National Statistics |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_economy/RegionalGVA.pdf |access-date=3 April 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728091019/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_economy/RegionalGVA.pdf |archive-date=28 July 2011}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto;"
|-
! Year || Regional GVA{{ref label|rounding|A|A}} ||COLSPAN=2| Agriculture ||COLSPAN=2| Industry{{ref label|energy|B|B}} ||COLSPAN=2| Services{{ref label|financial|C|C}}
|-
|colspan=8 | County of Kent (excluding Medway)
|-
| 1995 || '''12,369''' || 379 || 3.1% || 3,886 || 31.4% || 8,104 || 65.5%
|-
| 2000 || '''15,259''' || 259 || 1.7% || 4,601 || 30.2% || 10,399 || 68.1%
|-
| 2003 || '''18,126''' || 287 || 1.6% || 5,057 || 27.9% || 12,783 || 70.5%
|-
|colspan=8 | Medway
|-
| 1995 || '''1,823''' || 21 || 3.1% || 560 || 31.4% || 1,243 || 68.2%
|-
| 2000 || '''2,348''' || 8 || 1.7% || 745 || 30.2% || 1,595 || 67.9%
|-
| 2003 || '''2,671''' || 10 || 1.6% || 802 || 27.9% || 1,859 || 69.6%
|}
{| style="margin: 1em auto;"
|-
|{{note label|rounding|A|A}} Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
|-
|{{note label|energy|B|B}} includes energy and construction
|-
|{{note label|financial|C|C}} includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured
|}

North Kent is heavily industrialised, with cement-making at [[Northfleet]] and [[Cuxton]], [[brickmaking]] at Sittingbourne, [[shipbuilding]] on the Medway and [[The Swale|Swale]], engineering and [[aircraft design process|aircraft design]] and construction at Rochester, [[chemicals]] at Dartford, [[papermaking]] at [[Swanley]], and [[oil refinery|oil refining]] at [[Isle of Grain|Grain]].<ref name="KHI"/> There is a steel mini mill in [[Sheerness]] and a rolling mill in [[Queenborough]]. There are two [[Dungeness nuclear power station|nuclear power stations]] at [[Dungeness (headland)|Dungeness]], although the older one, Dungeness A, built in 1965, was decommissioned in 2006.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite news |title=Closure of Dungeness Power Station |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/6203953.stm |date=31 December 2006 |access-date=3 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070315211005/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/6203953.stm |archive-date=15 March 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Cement-making, papermaking, and coal-mining were important industries in Kent during the 19th and 20th centuries. Cement came to the fore in the 19th century when massive building projects were undertaken. The ready supply of chalk and huge pits between [[Stone, Kent|Stone]] and [[Gravesend, Kent|Gravesend]] bear testament to that industry. There were also other workings around [[Burham]] on the tidal Medway.<ref name="ChathamNews">{{cite web |title=The Chatham News Index |publisher=Parret & Neves |url=http://www.gparrett.btinternet.co.uk/chatnews/cnidx_r2.pdf |year=1996 |access-date =19 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061014102733/http://www.gparrett.btinternet.co.uk/chatnews/cnidx_r2.pdf |archive-date=14 October 2006}}</ref> Chalk, [[gravel]] and [[clay]] were excavated on [[Dartford Heath]] for centuries.

Kent's original [[paper mill]]s stood on streams like the [[River Darent]], tributaries of the River Medway, and on the [[River Stour, Kent|River Stour]]. Two 18th century mills were on the [[Rivers of Kent|River Len]] and at [[Tovil]] on the [[Loose Stream|River Loose]]. In the late 19th century huge modern mills were built at Dartford and Northfleet on the River Thames and at [[Sittingbourne|Kemsley]] on The Swale. In pre-industrial times, almost every village and town had its own [[windmill]] or [[watermill]], with [[List of windmills in Kent|over 400 windmills]] known to have stood at some time. Twenty-eight survive within the county today, plus two replica mills and a further two in that part of Kent now absorbed into London. All the major rivers in the county were used to power watermills.

From about 1900, several coal pits operated in East Kent. The [[Kent Coalfield]] was mined during the 20th century at several collieries,<ref name="chik">{{cite web |title=Coal fields Heritage Initiative |publisher=Dover Museum |url=http://www.dover.gov.uk/kentcoal/intro.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070220005624/http://www.dover.gov.uk/kentcoal/intro.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 February 2007 |access-date=20 April 2007}}</ref> including Chislet, Tilmanstone, Betteshanger, and the Snowdown Colliery, which ran from 1908 to 1986.<ref name="snowdown">{{cite web |title=Snowdown Colliery |publisher=FreeUK.com |url=http://home.freeuk.com/eastkent/mining/snowdown_colliery.htm |access-date=19 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080311010756/http://home.freeuk.com/eastkent/mining/snowdown_colliery.htm |archive-date=11 March 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The west of the county (including Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge, and Sevenoaks) has less than 50% of the average claimant count for low incomes or worklessness as the coastal districts of Dover, Folkestone and Hythe, and Thanet (chiefly three resorts: Ramsgate, Broadstairs, and Margate). West and Central Kent have long had many [[London commuter belt|City of London commuters]].