Socioeconomic status

Published 22 August 2018

Last updated 15 September 2020 - see all updates

This page corrects mistakes in a previous version. See details.

Contents

1. Main facts and figures

• according to the 2011 Census, people from the White ethnic group made up a lower share of those classed as ‘never worked and long-term unemployed’ (at 71.1%) than their share of the general population (86.0%)
• people from the Asian and Black groups made up a higher share of the ‘never worked and long-term unemployed’ group (at 17.5% and 6.2% respectively) than their share of the general population (7.5% and 3.3% respectively)
• 15.4% of people from the Indian ethnic group were in higher managerial and professional occupations (the highest socio-economic group), the highest percentage out of all ethnic groups

Data from the Annual Population Survey also shows that:

• in every ethnic group, a higher percentage of men than women were in higher managerial and professional occupations
• in nearly every ethnic group, a higher percentage of women than men were classed as ‘never worked or long-term unemployed’

2. Things you need to know

What the data measures

This data shows the population of England and Wales broken down by ethnicity and socio-economic status.

A person’s socio-economic status is based on the type of work they do, or what they used to do if they are retired.

Census data covers people in around 25 million private households. It also includes communal establishments, such as care homes and university halls of residence.

All percentages are rounded to 1 decimal place.

Read more about the 2011 Census.

Not included in the data

The data does not include households that did not answer the question about ethnicity.

94% of households completed the 2011 Census. Of those, 97% answered the question about ethnicity.

The data has been adjusted to take into account people and households who were not counted or counted incorrectly.

The ethnic groups used in the data

This data uses the standardised list of 18 ethnic groups developed for the 2011 Census.

Methodology

Read the detailed methodology document for this data.

You can find confidence intervals for the data in the ONS archive.

3. Socio-economic groups by ethnicity

• Location: England and Wales
• Time period: 2011
• Source: England and Wales 2011 Census

Socio-economic groups by ethnicity

Socio-economic groups	Asian	Black	Mixed	White	Other
	%	%	%	%	%
Higher managerial/administrative/professional	7.5	2.1	1.3	88.2	1.0
Lower managerial/administrative/professional	4.9	2.7	1.3	90.5	0.6
Intermediate occupations	4.8	2.4	1.2	91.0	0.5
Small employers and own account workers	6.7	1.7	1.0	89.8	0.9
Lower supervisory and technical	4.7	2.1	1.1	91.5	0.7
Semi-routine occupations	5.7	3.0	1.3	89.4	0.6
Routine occupations	4.8	2.4	1.1	90.9	0.7
Never worked/long-term unemployed	17.5	6.2	2.5	71.1	2.7
Full-time students	15.1	6.5	3.7	72.3	2.3

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Socioeconomic status Socio-economic groups by ethnicity Summary

Population data shows that:

• as at the 2011 Census, the largest ethnic group was the White group (making up 86.0% of the population), followed by Asian (7.5%), Black (3.3%), Mixed ethnicity (2.2%) and the Other ethnic group (1.0%)

Data on socio-economic groups shows that:

• out of all socio-economic groups, the largest percentage of White people were found in ‘lower supervisory and technical’ (91.5%), ‘intermediate occupations’ (91.0%) and ‘routine occupations’ (90.9%)

• people from the Asian ethnic group made up 17.5% of the ‘never worked and long-term unemployed’ group and 15.1% of full-time students, around twice their share of the overall population; out of all socio-economic groups, the smallest percentages of people from the Asian ethnic group were found in ‘lower supervisory and technical’ (4.7%), and ‘routine and intermediate occupations’ (both at 4.8%)

• people from the Black ethnic group made up 6.5% of full-time students and 6.2% of the ‘never worked and long-term unemployed’ group; out of all socio-economic groups, the smallest percentages of Black people were found in ‘small employers and own account workers’ (1.7%), and ‘managerial and professional occupations’ and ‘lower supervisory and technical’ groups (both at 2.1%)

4. Ethnic groups by socio-economic status

• Location: England and Wales
• Time period: 2011
• Source: England and Wales 2011 Census

Percentage of people within each ethnic group in the different socio-economic groups

Ethnicity	Higher managerial, administrative, professional	Lower managerial, administrative, professional	Intermediate occupations	Small employers and own account workers	Lower supervisory and technical	Semi-routine occupations	Routine occupations	Never worked or long-term unemployed	Full-time students
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
All	9.9	20.5	13.0	9.3	7.2	14.3	11.6	5.9	8.2
Asian	10.7	14.4	9.0	8.9	4.8	11.8	8.0	14.7	17.7
Bangladeshi	4.2	9.6	7.8	7.3	7.7	11.5	7.9	25.3	18.7
Chinese	12.8	13.4	6.4	9.8	6.2	7.4	4.1	6.7	33.3
Indian	15.4	17.7	11.1	8.2	4.2	12.2	8.7	9.3	13.2
Pakistani	6.6	9.9	7.9	11.4	3.7	11.3	8.5	24.4	16.3
Asian other	8.8	16.5	8.7	7.5	5.2	14.1	8.3	12.4	18.6
Black	6.9	18.3	10.7	5.3	5.0	14.5	9.5	12.2	17.8
Black African	7.5	17.0	8.2	4.7	3.9	13.9	7.9	13.5	23.4
Black Caribbean	6.2	20.5	14.0	6.0	6.4	15.7	11.8	9.4	10.0
Black other	5.9	17.3	11.1	5.7	5.0	13.5	9.2	15.0	17.2
Mixed	8.4	17.8	10.5	6.4	5.3	12.2	9.0	10.0	20.6
Mixed White/Asian	11.5	19.7	10.4	6.6	4.5	9.8	6.4	8.0	23.0
Mixed White/Black African	7.9	17.4	9.6	6.1	5.5	12.1	9.3	10.4	21.8
Mixed White/Black Caribbean	4.9	15.1	10.9	5.8	5.8	14.7	10.9	12.5	19.4
Mixed other	10.3	19.7	10.6	7.1	5.2	11.1	8.8	8.3	18.9
White	10.0	21.2	13.5	9.6	7.5	14.6	12.1	4.8	6.7
White British	9.8	21.3	13.9	9.5	7.6	14.8	11.9	4.7	6.6
White Irish	12.0	25.0	11.1	9.8	6.3	12.8	13.2	4.9	4.7
White Gypsy/Traveller	2.5	8.2	4.4	15.1	4.5	11.6	14.6	31.2	7.8
White other	12.4	19.2	8.6	11.3	6.8	12.3	14.5	5.3	9.6
Other	10.1	14.0	7.0	8.5	5.2	9.7	8.7	16.5	20.3
Arab	11.5	11.6	5.3	6.5	4.4	7.1	5.7	19.7	28.1
Any other	9.2	15.5	8.1	9.7	5.7	11.3	10.5	14.5	15.4

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Socioeconomic status Ethnic groups by socio-economic status Summary

This data shows that:

• 15.4% of people from the Indian ethnic group were in ‘higher managerial and professional occupations’, the highest percentage out of all ethnic groups – altogether, just under one-third (33.1%) of people from the Indian ethnic group were in the 2 ‘managerial and professional’ groups

• out of all ethnic groups, people from the White Irish group were most likely to be in ‘lower managerial and professional occupations’ (at 25.0%), followed by White British (21.3%) and Black Caribbean (20.5%)

• 31.2% of people from the White Gypsy/Roma or Traveller ethnic group were ‘long term unemployed or never worked’ – this was the highest percentage out of all ethnic groups, followed by the Bangladeshi (25.3%), Pakistani (24.4%) and Arab (19.7%) ethnic groups

• the White Gypsy/Roma ethnic group also had the highest percentage of ‘small employers and own account workers’ out of all ethnic groups, at 15.1%

• 33% of people from the Chinese ethnic group were full-time students, the highest percentage out of all ethnic groups, followed by the Arab (28.1%) and Black African (23.4%) ethnic groups

5. Ethnic groups by socio-economic status of men

• Location: England and Wales
• Time period: 2013 to 2015
• Source: England and Wales 2011 Census

Percentage of men within each ethnic group in the different socio-economic groups

Ethnicity	Higher managerial, administrative, professional	Lower managerial, administrative, professional	Intermediate occupations	Small employers and own account workers	Lower supervisory and technical	Semi-routine occupations	Routine occupations	Never worked or long-term unemployed
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Asian
Bangladeshi	8	13	6	12	10	14	8	28
Chinese	19	12	4	7	5	5	2	47
Indian	27	18	7	8	5	9	6	20
Pakistani	11	13	8	19	5	10	7	27
Asian other	12	14	6	12	7	14	8	27
Black
Black African	10	15	7	7	6	13	10	33
Black Caribbean	8	15	4	8	8	12	11	33
Black other	18	20		8		13	5	29
Mixed
Mixed White/Asian	19	22	12	6	7	5	1	29
Mixed White/Black African	16	11	4	9	2	13	14	31
Mixed White/Black Caribbean	8	21	10	5	7	13	7	29
Mixed other	17	24	7	6	6	8	7	26
White
White British	15	20	6	9	8	8	9	25
White Irish	20	19	6	10	6	4	7	27
White other	15	16	4	13	9	10	18	16
Other
Arab	12	11	4	11	6	11	6	40
Any other	12	13	6	12	6	12	11	27

Data withheld to protect confidentiality

Source: Annual Population Survey 3-year dataset 2013/2015

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Socioeconomic status Ethnic groups by socio-economic status of men Summary

This data for men (in the table above) and women (in the table below) shows that:

• in every ethnic group, a higher percentage of men than women were in ‘higher managerial and professional occupations’ (the highest socio-economic group); the biggest difference was in the Indian group, where 27% of men and 13% of women were in such occupations
• in nearly every ethnic group where data was available, men were more likely than women to be in the ‘small employers and own account workers’, ‘lower supervisory and technical’ and ‘routine occupations’ groups

The data for men shows that:

• men from the Indian ethnic group were most likely to be in ‘higher managerial and professional occupations’ compared with men from all other ethnic groups (at 27% of Indian men); and men from the Bangladeshi, Black Caribbean, and Mixed White and Black Caribbean groups were least likely to be (all at 8%)
• 47% of men from the Bangladeshi ethnic group, and 40% from the Arab group, were classed as ‘never worked or long term unemployed’, the highest percentages for men out of all ethnic groups; men from the Other White group had the lowest percentage, at 16%
• men from the Pakistani ethnic group were most likely to be ‘small employers and own account workers’ (at 19%), and Mixed White and Black Caribbean men were least likely to be (at 5%)

6. Ethnic groups by socio-economic status of women

• Location: England and Wales
• Time period: 2013 to 2015
• Source: England and Wales 2011 Census

Percentage of women within each ethnic group in the different socio-economic groups

Ethnicity	Higher managerial, administrative, professional	Lower managerial, administrative, professional	Intermediate occupations	Small employers and own account workers	Lower supervisory and technical	Semi-routine occupations	Routine occupations	Never worked or long-term unemployed
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Asian
Bangladeshi	4	11	15	3	2	11	3	51
Chinese	11	16	9	3	3	8	3	47
Indian	13	22	14	3	3	10	4	31
Pakistani	5	13	12	3	2	11	4	50
Asian other	7	19	11	5	3	14	7	35
Black
Black African	6	19	9	3	2	16	8	36
Black Caribbean	6	21	17	3	3	15	6	30
Black other	8	26	14			14	4	33
Mixed
Mixed White/Asian	12	21	12	4		12		34
Mixed White/Black African	3	25	10			12	8	33
Mixed White/Black Caribbean	5	20	19	3	1	16	6	30
Mixed other	11	23	13	6	2	8	8	28
White
White British	7	20	15	5	3	13	6	32
White Irish	9	27	10	3	2	7	4	38
White other	10	20	11	8	5	13	13	21
Other
Arab	8	10	9			7	4	60
Any other	8	19	10	6	2	12	8	37

Data withheld to protect confidentiality

Source: Annual Population Survey 3-year dataset 2013/2015

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Socioeconomic status Ethnic groups by socio-economic status of women Summary

This data for men and women shows that:

• in nearly every ethnic group, a higher percentage of women than men were in the ‘never worked or long-term unemployed’ socio-economic group; the biggest difference was in the Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic groups, where women were nearly twice as likely as men to be in that socio-economic group
• in nearly every ethnic group where data was available, women were more likely than men to be in ‘intermediate occupations’

The data for women shows that:

• women from the Indian ethnic group were most likely to be in ‘higher managerial and professional occupations’ compared with women from all other ethnic groups (at 13% of Indian women); and women from the Mixed White and Black African group were least likely to be (at 3%)
• 60% of women from the Arab ethnic group, and 51% from the Bangladeshi group, were classed as ‘never worked or long term unemployed’, the highest percentages for women out of all ethnic groups; women from the Other White group had the lowest percentage, at 21%
• women from the White Irish ethnic group were most likely to be in ‘lower managerial and professional occupations’ (at 27%), and women from the Arab ethnic group were least likely to be (at 10%)

7. Data sources

Source

England and Wales 2011 Census

Type of data

Survey data

Type of statistic

National Statistics

Publisher

Office for National Statistics

Publication frequency

Every 10 years

Purpose of data source

The Census is carried out every 10 years. Data from the March 2021 Census will not be available until 2022, so 2011 Census data is used instead.

Census data gives the government the information it needs to plan and run public services. It is also used as a benchmark for other statistical estimates, and it can help illustrate differences between various groups in the population.

Secondary source

Annual Population Survey

Type of data

Survey data

Type of statistic

Official statistics

Publisher

Office for National Statistics

Publication frequency

Yearly

Purpose of data source

The Annual Population Survey (APS) is the largest ongoing household survey in the UK and covers a range of topics, including:

• personal characteristics
• labour market status
• work characteristics
• education
• health

The purpose of the APS is to provide information on important social and socio-economic variables at local levels, such as labour market estimates.

The published statistics also allow government to monitor estimates on a range of issues between Censuses.

8. Download the data

Population of England and Wales by ethnicity and socio-economic group - Spreadsheet (csv) 59 KB

This file contains: Measure, Ethnicity, NS-SEC, Geography, Sex, Value, Value_type, Source, Time period, Sample size

Publication release date: 22 August 2018

Updated: 15 September 2020

full page history

1. 15 September 2020 Moved all contextual information to ‘Things you need to know’ and its new subsections. Increased visibility by adding it to the table of contents. Removed any duplication and added links to content about understanding our data. Charts, tables and the data file have not been updated.
2. 6 March 2019 Corrected the first bullet point in the section 'Ethnic groups by socio-economic status of men’. From: 'the biggest difference was in the Mixed White and Black African group, where 16% of men and 3% of women were in such occupations’. To: 'the biggest difference was in the Indian group, where 27% of men and 13% of women were in such occupations'
3. 22 August 2018 First published

From: Office for National Statistics

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