Employment

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1. Main facts and figures

  • 75% of working age people (16 to 64 year olds) in England, Scotland and Wales were employed in 2021
  • 76% of white people were employed, compared with 67% of people from all other ethnic groups combined
  • the difference in the employment rates between the white ethnic group and all other ethnic groups combined went down by 7 percentage points between 2004 and 2021
  • the highest employment rate in 2021 was in the ‘white other’ ethnic group (82%)
  • the lowest employment rate was in the combined Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic group (58%)
  • between 2004 and 2021, the biggest employment rate increases were in the combined Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic group (from 44% to 58%) and the ‘white other’ ethnic group (from 71% to 82%)
  • the highest employment rates for most ethnic groups were generally in the South and East of England – the lowest were generally in the North of England, Scotland, West Midlands, and Yorkshire and the Humber

2. Things you need to know

What the data measures

The data measures the number and percentage of people in England, Scotland and Wales who are employed.

Percentages are worked out using the total working age population (people aged 16 to 64 years).

Someone is classed as employed if they:

  • are in paid work, as an employee or self-employed
  • have a job that they are temporarily away from, for example on holiday
  • are on a government-supported training or employment programme
  • are doing unpaid family work, for example working in a family business

Percentages in the charts, tables and commentary are rounded to whole numbers, but have been worked out with unrounded figures.

Not included in the data

The data does not include estimates based on fewer than:

  • 30 survey respondents for data covering all ethnic groups together
  • 100 survey respondents for data broken down by ethnicity

This is to protect people’s confidentiality and because the numbers involved are too small to make reliable generalisations.

The ethnic groups used in the data

The data uses the ethnic categories from the 2011 Census.

Data is aggregated for the black, mixed and ‘other’ ethnic groups, which means estimates are shown for these groups as a whole.

Data is shown separately for white British people and all other white people (‘white other’ ethnic group). Separate figures are also shown for 3 different Asian ethnic groups (Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi combined, and ‘Asian other’)

People whose ethnicity is not known are included in the figures for ‘All’.

Methodology

Read the detailed methodology document for this data.

The Annual Population Survey updated its ethnicity questions in 2011. As a result, estimates from before and after 2011 may not be consistent, and data for individual ethnic groups in 2011 is not available.

The figures on this page are based on survey data. Find out more about:

In the data file

See Download the data for estimates:

  • ​by region, age group and sex over time for detailed ethnic groups
  • for each 3-month period for the white group and other ethnic groups combined since 2001
  • confidence intervals for each ethnic group – read how we use confidence intervals to demonstrate the reliability of survey estimates
  • sample sizes
  • estimates rounded to 1 decimal place

3. By ethnicity

Location:
England, Wales and Scotland
Time period:
2021
Source:
Annual Population Survey
Percentage and number of 16 to 64 year olds who were employed, by ethnicity
Ethnicity % Number of people employed
All 75 30,024,000
Asian 69 2,170,000
Indian 78 943,100
Pakistani, Bangladeshi 58 645,800
Asian Other 69 581,100
Black 67 969,700
Mixed 64 446,400
White 76 25,920,200
White British 76 23,430,600
White Other 82 2,489,600
Other 67 495,700

Download table data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV)

Summary of Employment By ethnicity Summary

The data shows that:

  • 75% of people aged 16 to 64 in England, Scotland and Wales were employed in 2021
  • 82% of people from the ‘white other’ ethnic group were employed – the highest rate out of all ethnic groups
  • 58% of people from the combined Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic group were employed – the lowest rate out of all ethnic groups

4. By ethnicity over time (white and other ethnic groups)

Location:
England, Wales and Scotland
Time period:
2004 to 2021
Source:
Annual Population Survey
Percentage and number of 16 to 64 year olds who were employed, by ethnicity (white and other ethnic groups) over time
All Other Ethnic Groups White
Year All % All Number of people employed Other Ethnic Groups % Other Ethnic Groups Number of people employed White % White Number of people employed
2004 73 27,057,900 58 2,011,900 74 25,022,700
2005 73 27,365,300 59 2,163,400 74 25,180,000
2006 73 27,592,800 59 2,329,900 74 25,245,300
2007 73 27,850,200 60 2,486,900 74 25,347,400
2008 72 27,957,200 60 2,611,100 74 25,329,800
2009 71 27,508,700 59 2,640,900 72 24,846,400
2010 70 27,484,600 59 2,755,200 72 24,703,600
2011 70 27,546,800 not collected not collected not collected not collected
2012 71 27,759,100 59 2,993,800 72 24,749,700
2013 71 28,069,200 59 3,055,700 73 24,996,900
2014 72 28,585,700 61 3,259,400 74 25,277,300
2015 74 29,208,300 63 3,453,800 75 25,718,900
2016 74 29,506,000 64 3,651,900 76 25,830,800
2017 75 29,946,000 65 3,712,500 77 26,214,500
2018 75 30,116,600 65 3,879,600 77 26,212,300
2019 76 30,427,000 66 4,015,700 78 26,395,600
2020 75 30,247,200 67 3,982,000 77 26,241,100
2021 75 30,024,000 67 4,081,700 76 25,920,200

Data not collected

Download table data for ‘By ethnicity over time (white and other ethnic groups)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity over time (white and other ethnic groups)’ (CSV)

Summary of Employment By ethnicity over time (white and other ethnic groups) Summary

The data shows that:

  • 76% of white people were employed in 2021, compared with 67% of people from all other ethnic groups combined
  • the difference in the employment rates for white people and all other ethnic groups combined went down from 16 percentage points in 2004 to 9 percentage points in 2021
  • the last quarter of 2021 (October to December) had the highest employment rate (67%) for ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities) – download the data for quarterly figures in 2021

5. By ethnicity over time

Location:
England, Wales and Scotland
Time period:
2004 to 2021
Source:
Annual Population Survey
Percentage of 16 to 64 year olds who were employed, by ethnicity over time
Ethnicity 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
% % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % %
All 73 73 73 73 72 71 70 70 71 71 72 74 74 75 75 76 75 75
Asian 57 57 58 58 59 59 59 not collected 59 59 62 63 63 64 66 65 68 69
Indian 68 69 69 69 69 68 70 not collected 69 69 71 71 73 74 76 76 77 78
Pakistani, Bangladeshi 44 44 45 45 46 47 46 not collected 48 49 52 53 54 55 57 56 57 58
Asian Other 58 60 60 61 64 63 59 not collected 60 59 62 64 63 64 64 65 68 69
Black 60 61 62 63 61 58 60 not collected 60 61 62 65 67 67 67 69 67 67
Mixed 62 62 65 63 60 60 61 not collected 60 62 63 65 64 67 67 69 69 64
White 74 74 74 74 74 72 72 not collected 72 73 74 75 76 77 77 78 77 76
White British 74 74 74 74 74 72 72 not collected 72 73 74 75 75 76 76 77 76 76
White Other 71 73 74 75 75 74 74 not collected 75 76 77 79 80 81 82 83 82 82
Other 55 57 55 58 58 56 56 not collected 56 57 57 59 61 62 61 63 66 67

Data not collected

Download table data for ‘By ethnicity over time’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity over time’ (CSV)

Summary of Employment By ethnicity over time Summary

The data shows that:

  • between 2004 and 2021 the employment rate increased in every ethnic group
  • the biggest increases were in the combined Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic group (from 44% to 58%) and the ‘white other’ ethnic group (from 71% to 82%)
  • the smallest increases were in the mixed ethnic group (from 62% to 64%) and the white British ethnic group (from 74% to 76%)

6. By ethnicity and gender

Location:
England, Wales and Scotland
Time period:
2021
Source:
Annual Population Survey
Percentage and number of 16 to 64 year olds who were employed, by ethnicity and gender
All Men Women
Ethnicity All % All Number of people employed Men % Men Number of people employed Women % Women Number of people employed
All 75 30,024,000 78 15,614,900 72 14,409,100
Asian 69 2,170,000 77 1,221,900 60 948,100
Indian 78 943,100 84 519,500 72 423,600
Pakistani, Bangladeshi 58 645,800 72 406,600 43 239,200
Asian Other 69 581,100 74 295,800 65 285,300
Black 67 969,700 71 442,700 64 527,000
Mixed 64 446,400 66 222,700 62 223,700
White 76 25,920,200 79 13,444,700 74 12,475,600
White British 76 23,430,600 78 12,229,000 73 11,201,600
White Other 82 2,489,600 85 1,215,700 79 1,274,000
Other 67 495,700 74 272,400 59 223,300

Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and gender’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and gender’ (CSV)

Summary of Employment By ethnicity and gender Summary

The data shows that:

  • in every ethnic group, the employment rate was higher for men than women
  • the biggest gap between men and women was in the combined Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic group, where 72% of men and 43% of women were employed
  • the smallest gap was in the mixed ethnic group, where 66% of men and 62% of women were employed
  • for both men and women, the highest employment rate was in the ‘white other’ ethnic group – 85% for men and 79% for women
  • the lowest employment rate for women was in the combined Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic group (43%)
  • the lowest employment rate for men was in the mixed (66%) and black ethnic groups (71%)

7. By ethnicity and age

Location:
England, Wales and Scotland
Time period:
2021
Source:
Annual Population Survey
Percentage and number of 16 to 64 year olds who were employed, by ethnicity and age
16-24 25-49 50-64 All
Ethnicity 16-24 % 16-24 Number of people employed 25-49 % 25-49 Number of people employed 50-64 % 50-64 Number of people employed All % All Number of people employed
All 52 3,394,600 85 17,699,200 71 8,930,200 75 30,024,000
Asian 37 217,400 77 1,564,800 71 387,800 69 2,170,000
Indian 37 57,600 86 710,900 77 174,700 78 943,100
Pakistani, Bangladeshi 37 102,400 66 453,400 58 90,000 58 645,800
Asian Other 37 57,400 77 400,600 74 123,100 69 581,100
Black 31 89,000 78 607,400 74 273,300 67 969,700
Mixed 36 89,000 81 289,500 71 67,900 64 446,400
White 55 2,959,900 86 14,863,200 71 8,097,100 76 25,920,200
White British 56 2,826,700 86 12,941,100 70 7,662,800 76 23,430,600
White Other 44 133,200 88 1,922,100 77 434,300 82 2,489,600
Other 34 36,600 74 363,300 66 95,700 67 495,700

Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and age’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and age’ (CSV)

Summary of Employment By ethnicity and age Summary

The data shows that:

  • the employment rate was 52% for all 16 to 24 year olds, 85% for 25 to 49 year olds, and 71% for 50 to 64 year olds
  • among 16 to 24 year olds, the employment rate was highest in the white British ethnic group (56%), and lowest in the black group (31%)
  • among 25 to 49 year olds, the employment rate was highest in the ‘white other’ ethnic group (88%), and lowest in the combined Pakistani and Bangladeshi group (66%)
  • among 50 to 64 year olds, the employment rate was highest in the ‘white other’ and Indian ethnic groups (77%), and lowest in the combined Pakistani and Bangladeshi group (58%)
  • the difference in the employment rate between white people and people from ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities) was biggest among 16 to 24 year olds – 55% of white people and 35% of people from ethnic minorities were employed
  • there was no difference in the employment rate between white people and people from ethnic minorities among 50 to 64 year olds (71%) – download the data to see these figures in detail

8. By ethnicity over time (16 to 24 year olds only)

Location:
England, Wales and Scotland
Time period:
2004 to 2021
Source:
Annual Population Survey
Percentage of 16 to 24 year olds who were employed, by ethnicity over time
Ethnicity 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
% % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % %
All 60 59 58 57 56 53 50 49 50 50 51 54 54 54 54 54 52 52
Asian 37 36 39 35 37 33 30 not collected 31 28 30 33 31 34 37 34 33 37
Indian 44 42 47 45 42 37 38 not collected 41 33 34 35 35 43 43 38 37 37
Pakistani, Bangladeshi 33 35 36 30 34 32 30 not collected 30 28 32 35 32 32 37 34 29 37
Asian Other 34 32 32 31 33 28 22 not collected 23 24 24 27 27 29 29 31 36 37
Black 36 35 38 38 31 28 27 not collected 27 27 31 32 37 34 33 37 32 31
Mixed 49 46 49 49 44 41 36 not collected 41 43 43 42 39 47 46 46 45 36
White 63 62 61 61 60 56 54 not collected 53 54 55 58 58 58 58 58 56 55
White British 63 62 61 61 59 56 54 not collected 53 54 55 58 58 59 58 58 56 56
White Other 56 62 65 61 63 57 55 not collected 48 51 49 55 56 55 53 59 49 44
Other 36 36 34 37 37 30 29 not collected 26 25 26 34 32 30 31 30 36 34

Data not collected

Download table data for ‘By ethnicity over time (16 to 24 year olds only)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity over time (16 to 24 year olds only)’ (CSV)

Summary of Employment By ethnicity over time (16 to 24 year olds only) Summary

16 to 24 year olds were less likely to be employed than older people. This is partly because people in this age group were more likely to be students and therefore classed as economically inactive.

The data shows that:

  • between 2004 and 2021, the employment rate for all 16 to 24 year olds went down from 60% to 52%
  • the biggest decreases were in the mixed ethnic group (from 49% to 36%), and the ‘white other’ ethnic group (from 56% to 44%) – however, ​the numbers of people surveyed are too small to make reliable generalisations

9. By ethnicity and area

Location:
England, Wales and Scotland
Time period:
2021
Source:
Annual Population Survey
Percentage of 16 to 64 year olds who were employed, by ethnicity and area
Ethnicity All East Midlands East Of England London North East North West Scotland South East South West Wales West Midlands Yorkshire And The Humber
% % % % % % % % % % % %
All 75 74 78 75 70 73 73 78 77 73 74 74
Asian 69 70 74 71 66 60 66 71 77 68 66 59
Indian 78 76 83 80 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 71 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 79 87 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 77 73
Pakistani, Bangladeshi 58 53 56 61 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 50 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 66 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 59 51
Asian Other 69 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 78 72 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 66 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 67 71 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 53 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable
Black 67 66 72 67 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 66 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 72 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 69 60
Mixed 64 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 62 64 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 66 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 68 72 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 62 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable
White 76 75 79 79 71 74 74 78 78 74 76 76
White British 76 75 78 77 71 74 73 78 77 73 75 76
White Other 82 83 83 83 77 82 82 81 81 80 81 77
Other 67 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 77 66 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 61 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 82 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable 61 withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable

Data withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable

Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and area’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and area’ (CSV)

Summary of Employment By ethnicity and area Summary

The data shows that:

  • the lowest overall employment rate was in the North East (70%)
  • the highest overall employment rates were in the South East and the East of England (both 78%)
  • the highest employment rate out of all ethnic groups and regions was for people in the Indian ethnic group living in the South West of England (87%)
  • the lowest rate was for people in the combined Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic group living in the North West (50%)

10. Data sources

Source

Type of data

Survey data

Type of statistic

National Statistics

Publisher

Office for National Statistics

Note on corrections or updates

Higher-level figures may differ from those published by the Department for Work and Pensions and the Office for National Statistics that use the Labour Force Survey.

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 the government to monitor estimates on a range of issues between censuses.

11. Download the data

Employment by local authority - Spreadsheet - Spreadsheet (csv) 2 MB

This file contains the following variables: Measure, Measure_type, Ethnicity, Ethnicity_type, Time, Time_type, Local_authority, Age, Value, Confidence_interval, Numerator, Denominator, Sample_size

Employment by region - Spreadsheet (csv) 3 MB

This file contains the following variables: Measure, Measure_type, Ethnicity, Ethnicity_type, Time, Time_type, Region, Age, Age_type, Sex, Value, Confidence_interval, Numerator, Denominator, Sample_size

Publication release date: 3 November 2022

full page history
  1. Updated with the latest available data.

From: Office for National Statistics

Previous editions:
  1. Edition published on 29 January 2021
  2. Edition published on 7 September 2020
  3. Edition published on 14 May 2019
  4. Edition published on 26 January 2018
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