Unemployment

Published 10 October 2017

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Contents

1. Main facts and figures

• in 2016, just over 4% of White people were unemployed, which is lower than the rate of unemployment for people from all Other ethnic groups

• the group with the highest rate of unemployment in 2016 was Pakistani/Bangladeshi (11%), and the group with the lowest rate was White Other (4%)

• unemployment rates were higher for people from ethnic minorities (other than White ethnic minorities) than for White people across the country; these differences were largest in London (9% for ethnic minorities and 4% for White), the West Midlands (11% for ethnic minorities and 5% for White) and the North West (9% for ethnic minorities and 5% for White)

Things you need to know

The Annual Population Survey (APS) is a ‘sample survey’. It collects information from a random sample of the population to make generalisations (reach 'findings') about the total population.

The commentary for this data includes only reliable, or ‘statistically significant’, findings. Findings are statistically significant when we can be confident that they can be repeated, and are reflective of the total population rather than just the survey sample.

Specifically, the statistical tests used mean we can be confident that if we carried out the same survey on different random samples of the population, 19 times out of 20 we would get similar findings.

As with all surveys, the estimates from the APS are subject to a degree of uncertainty as they are based on a sample of the population. The degree of uncertainty is greater when the number of respondents is small, so it will be highest for ethnic minority groups.

Smaller numbers of survey respondents from ethnic minority backgrounds mean that estimates for ethnic minorities (other than White minorities) are more unreliable than estimates for White people (which includes White British and White ethnic minorities).

Results taken from a low number of responses are more likely to be affected by statistical variation, so observed changes might not reflect real differences. As such, caution is needed when interpreting short-term trends in the data, especially for sub-groups (for example, a specific ethnic group, age group and gender).

When looking at data for ‘All’ groups, any values based on fewer than 30 responses have been withheld, and when further breaking down the data by ethnicity, any values based on fewer than 100 responses have been withheld. This is to protect confidentiality or because the numbers involved are too small to draw any reliable conclusions.

Data is sourced from the Annual Population Survey to get lower level details such as local authority area. Higher-level figures may differ slightly from reports published by the Department for Work and Pensions and the Office for National Statistics that also use the Labour Force Survey.

Changes were made to the Labour Force Survey (and therefore the Annual Population Survey) ethnicity questions in January to March 2011, to bring them more in line with Census data collection on these topics. In April to June 2011 further changes were made to the ethnicity questions to bring them in line with Scottish Census data collection. As a result, there may be some inconsistencies with estimates from earlier than 2011.

What the data measures

This data measures the ‘unemployment rate’ in England, Wales and Scotland across different ethnic groups.

The ‘unemployment rate’ is the number of people who are unemployed as a percentage of the total economically active population. A person is ‘economically active’ if they are either in employment or are unemployed. They are not counted as economically active if they are caring for family or retired, or they are in full-time education and not in paid work.

A person is counted as unemployed if all 3 of the following apply:

• they are out of work
• they are available to start work in the next 2 weeks
• they have either been actively looking for work in the past 4 weeks or have found a job and are waiting to start it

This is the International Labour Organisation’s definition of ‘unemployment’ and is often used in published UK statistics. It gives a more complete picture of unemployment than alternatives such as a count of claimants for out-of-work benefits, because it includes individuals regardless of whether or not they are claiming benefits.

The figures come from the Annual Population Survey (APS), which is a general household survey covering the UK. It uses data from the Labour Force Survey as well as other local data.

The ethnic categories used in this data

Where possible, data is broken down by 9 groups:

• White British
• White Other
• Black
• Mixed
• Indian
• Pakistani/Bangladeshi
• Other Asian
• Other ethnic groups
• Unreported – where the ethnicity has not been recorded or the person chose not to state their ethnicity

However, in cases where the number of people surveyed (the ‘sample size’) was too small to draw any firm conclusions, the data is broken down into:

• White – White ethnic groups, including White British and White ethnic minorities
• all Other ethnic groups – all other ethnic minorities

People whose ethnicity is 'Unreported' are counted in measurements for ‘all’ groups, such as all people who are unemployed, and not counted where data is broken down by White compared with all Other ethnic groups.

2. Unemployment by ethnicity

• Location: England, Wales and Scotland
• Time period: 2016
• Source: Annual Population Survey

Percentage of people in unemployment by ethnicity

Ethnicity	%	Total unemployed
All	5	1,551,000
Asian	7	158,000
Indian	5	45,000
Pakistani/Bangladeshi	11	82,000
Asian other	5	31,000
Black	10	104,000
Mixed	10	40,000
White	4	1,212,000
White British	4	1,106,000
White other	4	106,000
Other	7	37,000

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Unemployment Unemployment by ethnicity Summary

This data shows that:

• in 2016, the overall unemployment rate was 5%

• in 2016, the group with the highest rate of unemployment was Pakistani/Bangladeshi (11%), and the groups with the lowest rate were White British and White Other (4%)

3. Unemployment by White and Other ethnicities

• Location: England, Wales and Scotland
• Time period: 2016
• Source: Annual Population Survey

Percentage of people from White and Other backgrounds who are unemployed

Standard Ethnicity	%	Total unemployed
All	5	1,551,000
White	4	1,212,000
Other	8	338,000

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Unemployment Unemployment by White and Other ethnicities Summary

This data shows that:

• in 2016, the overall unemployment rate was 5%

• in 2016, just over 4% of White people were unemployed, compared with 8% from ethnic minorities (other than White minorities)

4. Unemployment over time

• Location: England, Wales and Scotland
• Time period: 2004 to 2016
• Source: Annual Population Survey

Percentage of people in unemployment by ethnicity from 2014 to 2016

Ethnicity	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
All	5	5	5	5	6	8	8	8	8	8	6	5	5
Indian	7	7	8	7	7	9	8	N/A*	10	9	6	7	5
Pakistani/Bangladeshi	13	13	15	15	15	17	16	N/A*	17	18	14	12	11
Asian other	9	8	8	9	7	9	9	N/A*	10	9	8	7	6
Black	13	14	13	13	14	18	16	N/A*	17	17	15	12	10
Mixed	12	12		12	13	14	15	N/A*	16	16	13	11	11
White British	4	4	5	5	5	7	7	N/A*	7	7	6	5	4
White other	6	6	5	5	5	7	6	N/A*	6	6	6	5	4
Other	11	11	13	10	11	12	13	N/A*	14	13	10	9	7

^* Not applicable Data withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Unemployment Unemployment over time Summary

This data shows that:

• from 2004 to 2016, people from White British and White Other backgrounds had the lowest rates of unemployment

• from 2004 to 2016, the Pakistani/Bangladeshi and Black ethnic groups had the highest rates of unemployment

• although the graph shows differences in the percentage of people who are unemployed in various ethnic groups between 2004 and 2016, sample sizes are small, so any generalisations based on these results are unreliable

5. Unemployment by ethnicity and region

• Location: England, Wales and Scotland
• Time period: 2016
• Source: Annual Population Survey

Percentage and number of people in unemployment by ethnicity and region

	White		Other
Region	White %	White Total unemployed	Other %	Other Total unemployed
All	4	1,212,000	8	338,000
East Midlands	4	88,000		13,000
East of England	4	104,000		16,000
London	4	119,000	9	153,000
North East	6	79,000		6,000
North West	5	150,000	9	31,000
Scotland	5	122,000		7,000
South East	4	160,000	7	28,000
South West	4	104,000		10,000
Wales	5	66,000		3,000
West Midlands	5	103,000	11	51,000
Yorkshire and The Humber	5	118,000		21,000

Data withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Unemployment Unemployment by ethnicity and region Summary

This data shows that:

• in all regions across the country in 2016, people from ethnic minorities (other than White ethnic minorities) had a higher unemployment rate than people from a White background

• in 2016, the West Midlands had the largest gap in unemployment rates between White (5%) and all Other ethnic groups (11%), a difference of 6 percentage points

• in 2016, the East Midlands and East of England had the smallest gap in unemployment rates between White (4%) and all Other ethnic groups (6%), a difference of 2 percentage points

6. Unemployment by ethnicity and gender

• Location: England, Wales and Scotland
• Time period: 2016
• Source: Annual Population Survey

Percentage and number of people in unemployment by ethnicity and gender

	Female		Male
Ethnicity	Female %	Female Unemployed people	Male %	Male Unemployed people
White	4	550,000	4	662,000
All other ethnic groups	9	160,000	8	177,000

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Unemployment Unemployment by ethnicity and gender Summary

This data shows that:

in 2016, unemployment rates for men were the same as they were for women in the White group, and for all Other ethnic groups, men had a lower unemployment rate than women

• in 2016, women from all Other ethnic groups were more likely to be unemployed than White women (9% compared to 4% respectively), and men from all Other ethnic groups were more likely to be unemployed than White men (8% compared to 4% respectively)

7. Unemployment by ethnicity and age

• Location: England, Wales and Scotland
• Time period: 2016
• Source: Annual Population Survey

Percentage and number of people in unemployment by ethnicity and age

	White		Other
Age group	White %	White Total unemployed	Other %	Other Total unemployed
16-24	12	450,000	23	120,000
25-49	3	504,000	6	174,000
50-64	3	241,000	6	42,000
65+	2	17,000
All	4	1,212,000	8	338,000

Data withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Unemployment Unemployment by ethnicity and age Summary

This data shows that:

• across all working age groups in 2016, people from ethnic minorities (other than White ethnic minorities) had higher rates of unemployment than White people

• amongst people aged 16 to 24, the unemployment rate for ethnic minorities (other than White ethnic minorities) (23%) was nearly double that of the White group (12%), a gap of 11 percentage points and the largest gap of all the age groups

• in 2016, the rates for people aged 25 to 64 years from ethnic minorities (other than White ethnic minorities) around double the rate for White people (6% and 3% respectively)

• people aged 16 to 24 years were around 4 times more likely to be unemployed than people aged 25 to 64 years; for White people, the rates were 12% and 3% respectively, and for all Other ethnic groups the rates were 23% and 6% respectively

8. Unemployment for 16-24 year olds by ethnicity over time

• Location: England, Wales and Scotland
• Time period: 2004 to 2016
• Source: Annual Population Survey

Percentage of unemployed 16-24 year olds by ethnicity from 2004 to 2016

Ethnicity	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
White	11	12	13	13	14	18	18	N/A*	20	18	16	13	12
Other	24	23	23	24	26	29	31	N/A*	33	35	27	24	23

^* Not applicable

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Unemployment Unemployment for 16-24 year olds by ethnicity over time Summary

The 16 to 24 year old age group was more likely to be unemployed than people in the older age groups, and this further data shows that:

• the rate of unemployment for 16 to 24 year olds from ethnic minorities (other than White ethnic minorities) has been falling since 2013, from 35% in 2013 to 23% in 2016, a drop of 12 percentage points

• the rate of unemployment for White 16 to 24 year olds has been falling since 2012, from 20% in 2012 to 12% in 2016, a drop of 8 percentage points

• unemployment rates for 16 to 24 year olds from both White and all Other ethnic groups were similar in 2016 to rates in 2004

• the gap between unemployment rates for White 16 to 24 year olds and people from all Other ethnic groups aged 16 to 24 years was at its largest in 2013, a gap of 17 percentage points

9. Methodology

The Annual Population Survey is a continuous household survey and is a ‘sample survey’. This means it collects information from a random sample of the population to make generalisations (reach 'findings’) about the total population (such as unemployment). Most people are interviewed face to face at first, and later by telephone. The sample is formed partly from waves 1 and 5 of the Labour Force Survey (in which selected addresses are contacted every 3 months) and partly from boost cases which are in the sample for 4 waves, spread one year apart.

Participants are randomly selected from the Royal Mail Postcode address File (PAF) although we also use the NHS communal accommodation list and (in the case of remote parts of Scotland) telephone directories. All eligible individuals found at the selected address may be interviewed. Only those for whom either the individual responds or another family member gives a proxy response are included in the dataset used for this analysis. The complex survey design has been taken into account when calculating confidence intervals.

The achieved sample of approximately 275,000 undergoes weighting which is structured at local authority level and uses age and sex dimensions. The Office for National Statistics population estimates and projections are used as the basis for this weighting process.

Suppression rules and disclosure control

In data covering all ethnic groups together, estimates based on sample sizes of less than 30 have been suppressed. For data broken down by ethnic groups, estimates based on sample sizes under 100 have been suppressed.

‘Suppression’ means these figures have not been included in the data, to protect confidentiality and because the numbers involved are too small to draw any reliable conclusions.

Quality and methodology information

10. Data sources

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.

11. Download the data

Unemployment by region - Spreadsheet (csv) 1 MB

This file contains unemployment rates by ethnicity, time, gender, region, age, with numerator, denominator, sample size and confidence intervals

Unemployment by local authority - Spreadsheet (csv) 562 KB

This file contains unemployment rates by ethnicity, time, gender, local authority area and age, with numerator, denominator, sample size and confidence intervals

Publication release date: 10 October 2017

full page history

1. 10 October 2017 First published

From: Office for National Statistics

This page replaces 1 older page:

1. Length of time spent in unemployment

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