Employment
Published
- 1. Navigate toMain facts and figures section
- 2. Navigate toThings you need to know section
- 3. Navigate to By ethnicity section
- 4. Navigate to By ethnicity over time (white and other ethnic groups) section
- 5. Navigate to By ethnicity over time section
- 6. Navigate to By ethnicity and gender section
- 7. Navigate to By ethnicity and age section
- 8. Navigate to By ethnicity over time (16 to 24 year olds only) section
- 9. Navigate to By ethnicity and area section
- 10. Navigate toData sources section
- 11. Navigate toDownload the data section
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:
- interpreting survey data, including how reliability is affected by the number of people surveyed
- how weighting is used to make survey data more representative of the whole group being studied
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
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)
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 |
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
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 |
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
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
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)
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 |
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
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 |
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
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
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