Public Health Annual Report 2026 - Work, place and identity in adult men's lives

Work plays a central role in shaping a person’s health and wellbeing. Beyond income, employment provides structure, social connection, identity and a sense of purpose. For many men, particularly in communities with a strong industrial heritage, work is closely tied to masculine identity and self-worth. Where employment is insecure, inaccessible, or perceived as unattainable, this can generate shame, withdrawal and psychological distress. These dynamics are visible in Cumberland, where patterns of work, place and identity have been shaped by deindustrialisation, rurality and the presence of a small number of dominant employers.

This chapter explores how labour market conditions, economic inactivity and local employment structures shape masculine identity in Cumberland, and how this, in turn, influences men’s wellbeing, aspiration and engagement with support in adulthood.

Employment and the Cumberland labour market

Nationally and locally, significant policy effort has been directed towards increasing female participation in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields, addressing long-standing gender imbalances in traditionally male-dominated sectors. By contrast, comparatively less strategic focus has been placed on encouraging boys and young men to enter HEAL (health, education, administration and literacy) professions, a term coined by social scientist Richard Reeves to describe sectors in which men are underrepresented (Reeves, 2022). These sectors represent a growing proportion of employment opportunities. In areas such as Cumberland, where employment pathways are already relatively concentrated, this asymmetry may further narrow perceived occupational identities for young men, particularly those who do not access high-status technical roles. Broadening aspiration must therefore operate in both directions: supporting girls into STEM and supporting boys into expanding care, education and health-based professions.

The December 2025 labour market briefing recorded 224,935 payrolled employees in Cumbria. Occupations with the highest demand were care workers, sales roles, cleaners and domestic staff, teaching assistants, and kitchen and catering assistants, roles that largely fall within the HEAL categories. These fields tend to be more caregiving, people-facing and often offer stable, accessible careers with significant worker shortages, and some not requiring university-level qualifications. Reeves argues that increasing male participation in the HEAL professions is key to widening access to stable employment, particularly in contexts where traditionally male-dominated fields are relatively more susceptible to changing industries and instability (Reeves, 2022). In addition to economic benefits, entering more men into people-focused employment will provide more diverse role models for younger generations.

In Cumberland, the relevance of the HEAL framework is particularly stark. Figure 24 shows that the highest volume of active job postings in 2025 were concentrated in care work, although large volumes of adverts were also present for engineers and large goods vehicle drivers, roles more closely aligned with traditional masculine identities. For men whose identities have been shaped by industrial, technical or physically demanding work, HEAL roles may be perceived as poorly aligned with masculine norms, despite offering stability and long-term employment. In this context, labour-market mismatch is not simply a skills issue, but an identity issue, helping to explain why economic inactivity and mental health-related benefit claims can persist even where vacancies are high.

The organisations with the most active job listings were the NHS, BAE systems and Randstad (a recruitment agency specialising locally in social care and construction roles (Figure 25). The dominance of a small number of large employers has created a tiered local economy. Secure, well-paid employment is available to some and come with a high level of social desirability. This dynamic creates a sharp divide between men who access secure, high-status employment and those who do not, which appears before children enter the labour market. One surveyed professional reflected that an issue for boys and young men locally was “feeling inadequate if they are not enough for Sellafield or Innovia”.

For men excluded from these opportunities, repeated rejection or perceived unsuitability can reinforce feelings of failure and reduce confidence. These experiences interact with masculine norms that discourage vulnerability, amplifying distress while limiting routes to support.

Unemployment and economic inactivity

Headline unemployment rates in Cumberland remain relatively low. In November 2025, the unemployment standard claimant rate was 2.8% for men and 2.1% for women, both below national averages (4.4% and 3.4% respectively) (Source: ONS via Cumberland Council Labour Market Briefing). However, these figures obscure a more complex picture of economic inactivity, ill health and labour-market disengagement. Women are more likely to claim Universal Credit (UC) overall (20.6% compared with 15.6% of men). Figure 26a-e shows that patterns of UC for health reasons show similar trends in both males and females, with a rising proportion of the population claiming in all groups, but most steeply in the older age groups. These patterns suggest long-term health conditions, ageing workforce patterns and structural barriers to participation may be key contributors to economic inactivity in Cumberland.

Workforce projections and replacement demand

Looking ahead, workforce projections reinforce the importance of occupational transition. Replacement demand to 2034 is broad-based, with the largest share in mixed/structurally gendered occupations (44,200; 36.1%), followed by HEAL roles (38,200; 31.2%), non-STEM male-dominated roles (28,000; 22.8%) and STEM roles (12,000; 9.8%). This suggests that traditional male employment routes remain significant, but that a substantial share of future vacancies will arise in HEAL occupations. A balanced workforce response is therefore needed: improving health and female participation in male-dominated sectors while also widening pathways for men into HEAL roles, particularly as physical capacity declines with age and long-term health conditions contribute to economic inactivity.

Transitions between traditionally gender-dominated roles are constrained by differences in status, qualification requirements, working conditions and cultural norms. Without changes to training pathways, job design and employer practice, replacement demand alone is unlikely to encourage gender diversity in HEAL sectors. Workforce strategies must therefore focus not only on meeting demand, but on enabling sustainable and acceptable transitions across sectors over the life course.

Figure 27 Ten year replacement demand analysis 2024 to 2034, Cumbria