Unemployment

Published 16 October 2019

Last updated 30 September 2020 - see all updates

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

Contents

1. Main facts and figures

• 4% of White people were unemployed in 2018, compared with 7% of people from all other ethnic groups combined
• Black people had the highest unemployment rate out of all the ethnic groups (9%)
• the Other White ethnic group had the lowest unemployment rate out of all the ethnic groups (3%)
• in every region in England, Wales and Scotland, unemployment rates were lower for White people than for all other ethnic groups combined, with the biggest difference in Scotland

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 unemployed.

Percentages are worked out using the economically active population (people aged 16 and over who are employed or unemployed).

Someone is classed as unemployed if they:

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

Percentages are rounded to whole numbers.

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.

In the data file

See Download the data for estimates:

• by region, age group and sex over time for detailed ethnic groups
• by local authority for White and Other than White groups
• by disability, age and sex over time for detailed ethnic groups

Download files also include:

• confidence intervals for each ethnic group – read about 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: 2018
• Source: Annual Population Survey

Percentage and number of the economically active population who were unemployed, by ethnicity

Ethnicity	%	Number of people unemployed
All	4	1,360,800
Asian	6	138,800
Indian	4	39,200
Pakistani, Bangladeshi	8	66,000
Asian Other	6	33,500
Black	9	91,900
Mixed	7	28,000
White	4	1,060,900
White British	4	971,400
White Other	3	89,500
Other	8	40,100

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Unemployment By ethnicity Summary

This data shows that:

• in 2018, 4% of the economically active population (all people aged 16 and over who were employed or unemployed) were unemployed, which is just under 1.4 million people
• 9% of Black people were unemployed, the highest unemployment rate across all ethnic groups
• 3% of the Other White ethnic group were unemployed, the lowest unemployment rate across all ethnic groups

4. By ethnicity (White and Other than White)

• Location: England, Wales and Scotland
• Time period: 2018
• Source: Annual Population Survey

Percentage and number of the economically active population who were unemployed, by ethnicity (White and Other than White)

Ethnicity	%	Number of people unemployed
All	4	1,360,800
White	4	1,060,900
Other than White	7	298,800

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Unemployment By ethnicity (White and Other than White) Summary

This data shows that:

• in 2018, 4% of White people were unemployed, compared with 7% of people from all other ethnic groups combined (shown here as ‘Other than White’)

5. By ethnicity over time

• Location: England, Wales and Scotland
• Time period: 2004 to 2018
• Source: Annual Population Survey

Percentage of the economically active population who were unemployed, by ethnicity over time

Ethnicity	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
All	5	5	5	5	6	8	8	8	8	8	6	5	5	4	4
Asian	9	9	10	10	9	11	11		12	12	9	8	7	7	6
Indian	7	7	8	7	7	9	8		10	9	6	7	5	6	4
Pakistani, Bangladeshi	13	13	15	15	15	17	16		17	18	14	12	11	10	8
Asian Other	9	8	8	9	7	9	9		10	9	8	7	6	6	6
Black	13	14	13	13	14	18	16		17	17	15	12	10	9	9
Mixed	12	12	11	12	13	14	15		16	16	13	11	11	7	7
White	4	4	5	5	5	7	7		7	7	6	5	4	4	4
White British	4	4	5	5	5	7	7		7	7	6	5	4	4	4
White Other	6	6	5	5	5	7	6		6	6	6	5	4	4	3
Other	11	11	13	10	11	12	13		14	13	10	9	7	8	8

Data not collected

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Unemployment By ethnicity over time Summary

This data shows that:

• in every ethnic group, the unemployment rate was lower in 2018 than it was in 2004
• the unemployment rates for the Mixed ethnic group and the combined Pakistani and Bangladeshi group were more than 5 percentage points lower in 2018 than in 2004

6. By ethnicity and gender

• Location: England, Wales and Scotland
• Time period: 2018
• Source: Annual Population Survey

Percentage and number of the economically active population who were unemployed, by ethnicity and gender

	All		Men		Women
Ethnicity	All %	All Number of people unemployed	Men %	Men Number of people unemployed	Women %	Women Number of people unemployed
All	4	1,360,800	4	727,800	4	633,000
Asian	6	138,800	5	65,700	8	73,100
Indian	4	39,200	4	19,100	5	20,100
Pakistani, Bangladeshi	8	66,000	6	31,100	13	34,900
Asian Other	6	33,500	6	15,500	7	18,100
Black	9	91,900	9	46,000	9	45,900
Mixed	7	28,000	8	15,200	7	12,800
White	4	1,060,900	4	579,000	4	481,900
White British	4	971,400	4	537,700	4	433,700
White Other	3	89,500	3	41,300	4	48,200
Other	8	40,100	7	21,400	8	18,700

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Unemployment By ethnicity and gender Summary

This data shows that:

• in 2018, the unemployment rate for the Asian and the combined Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic groups was higher for women (8% and 13%) than men (5% and 6%)
• White women (4%) were less likely to be unemployed than women from all other ethnic groups combined (8%) – download the data to see these figures
• White men (4%) were less likely to be unemployed than men from all other ethnic groups combined (6%) – download the data to see these figures

7. By ethnicity and age (White and Other than White)

• Location: England, Wales and Scotland
• Time period: 2018
• Source: Annual Population Survey

Percentage and number of the economically active population who were unemployed, by ethnicity and age (White and Other than White)

	All		White		Other than White
Age	All %	All Number of people unemployed	White %	White Number of people unemployed	Other than White %	Other than White Number of people unemployed
All	4	1,360,800	4	1,060,900	7	298,800
16-24	12	486,100	11	384,300	18	101,700
25-49	3	587,600	3	432,600	6	154,300
50-64	3	268,100	3	228,100	5	39,900
65+	2	18,900	1	15,900	5	3,000

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Unemployment By ethnicity and age (White and Other than White) Summary

This data shows that:

• in every age group, White people had a lower unemployment rate than people from all other ethnic groups combined
• 16 to 24 year olds were more likely to be unemployed than any other age group, both for the White group and for all other ethnic groups combined
• among 16 to 24 year olds, 11% of White people were unemployed, compared with 18% of people from all other ethnic groups – the largest gap of any age group, at 7 percentage points
• among 25 to 49 year olds, people from the White ethnic group had a lower unemployment rate (3%) than people from all other ethnic groups combined (6%)
• among 50 to 64 year olds, people from the White ethnic group had a lower unemployment rate (3%) than those from all other ethnic groups combined (5%)
• among people over 65, those from the White ethnic group had a lower unemployment rate (1%) than those from all other ethnic groups combined (5%)

8. By ethnicity over time (16 to 24 year olds only, White and Other than White)

• Location: England, Wales and Scotland
• Time period: 2004 to 2018
• Source: Annual Population Survey

Percentage and number of economically active 16 to 24 year olds who were unemployed, by ethnicity over time (White and Other than White)

	All		White		Other than White
Time	All %	All Number of people unemployed	White %	White Number of people unemployed	Other than White %	Other than White Number of people unemployed
2004	12	553,800	11	449,000	24	103,800
2005	13	591,300	12	489,800	23	100,800
2006	14	637,900	13	527,700	23	109,400
2007	14	638,900	13	529,000	24	109,300
2008	15	700,200	14	572,400	26	127,400
2009	19	862,000	18	725,100	29	135,500
2010	20	862,400	18	721,100	31	140,800
2011	21	960,200
2012	21	946,200	20	778,400	33	167,500
2013	20	894,200	18	711,500	35	182,300
2014	17	742,100	16	605,000	27	135,100
2015	14	629,600	13	503,700	24	126,000
2016	13	569,600	12	450,500	23	119,100
2017	12	515,200	11	410,100	20	104,400
2018	12	486,100	11	384,300	18	101,700

Data not collected

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Unemployment By ethnicity over time (16 to 24 year olds only, White and Other than White) Summary

This data shows that:

• in every year between 2004 and 2018, White 16 to 24 year olds had a lower unemployment rate than those from all other ethnic groups combined
• 2013 saw the biggest difference in the rate between White 16 to 24 year olds and those from all other ethnic groups, at 17 percentage points – by 2018, the gap had reduced to 7 percentage points
• the highest unemployment rate for White 16 to 24 year olds was 20% (in 2012)
• the highest unemployment rate for 16 to 24 year olds from all other ethnic groups combined was 35% (in 2013) – by 2018, this had fallen to 18%

9. By ethnicity and area (White and Other than White)

• Location: England, Wales and Scotland
• Time period: 2018
• Source: Annual Population Survey

Percentage and number of the economically active population who were unemployed, by ethnicity and area (White and Other than White)

	All		White		Other than White
Region	All %	All Number of people unemployed	White %	White Number of people unemployed	Other than White %	Other than White Number of people unemployed
All	4	1,360,800	4	1,060,900	7	298,800
East Midlands	5	107,700	4	91,300	6	16,400
East of England	4	111,000	4	99,400	4	11,500
London	5	241,600	4	109,500	8	131,400
North East	5	67,800	5	63,300	9	4,400
North West	4	143,600	4	116,300	8	27,300
Scotland	4	117,200	4	105,100	11	12,100
South East	3	159,700	3	133,200	6	26,300
South West	3	88,600	3	81,900	5	6,600
Wales	5	68,300	4	63,500	7	4,800
West Midlands	5	135,100	4	96,200	8	39,000
Yorkshire and The Humber	5	120,200	4	101,200	8	19,000

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Unemployment By ethnicity and area (White and Other than White) Summary

This data shows that:

• in almost all regions, White people were less likely to be unemployed than people from all other ethnic groups combined
• the exception was in the East of England, where the unemployment rate was not significantly different between the White group and all other ethnic groups
• Scotland had the largest unemployment rate gap between the White ethnic group (4%) and all other ethnic groups combined (11%), at 7 percentage points

10. By ethnicity, disability and gender

• Location: England, Wales and Scotland
• Time period: 2018
• Source: Annual Population Survey

Percentage of the economically active population who were unemployed, by ethnicity, disability and gender

	All			Men			Women
Ethnicity	All All (%)	All Disabled (%)	All Non-disabled (%)	Men All (%)	Men Disabled (%)	Men Non-disabled (%)	Women All (%)	Women Disabled (%)	Women Non-disabled (%)
All	4	8	4	4	10	4	4	7	4
Asian	6	11	5	5	9	4	8	13	7
Indian	4	9	4	4	11	3	5	8	5
Pakistani, Bangladeshi	8	13	7	6	8	6	13	22	11
Asian Other	6	10	6	6	10	5	7	11	6
Black	9	16	8	9	19	8	9	15	8
Mixed	7	16	6	8	18	6	7	14	6
White	4	8	3	4	9	3	4	6	3
White British	4	8	3	4	10	3	4	6	3
White Other	3	6	3	3	4	3	4	8	3
Other	8	15	7	7	20	5	8	8	8

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Unemployment By ethnicity, disability and gender Summary

This data shows that:

• in 2018, the total unemployment rate was 8% for disabled people and 4% for non-disabled people
• disabled people had a higher unemployment rate than non-disabled people in every ethnic group except the Other Asian ethnic group, where the difference was not meaningful
• among disabled people, the highest unemployment rate was in the Black and Mixed ethnic groups (both at 16%) and the lowest was in the Other White ethnic group (at 6%)
• the biggest gap between disabled men and women was in the combined Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic group, where 22% of disabled women and 8% of disabled men were unemployed

11. 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.

12. Download the data

Unemployment by region - Spreadsheet (csv) 4 MB

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

Unemployment by local authority - Spreadsheet (csv) 2 MB

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

Unemployment by disability - Spreadsheet (csv) 850 KB

This file contains the following: Measure, Measure_type, Ethnicity, Ethnicity_type, Time, Time_Type, Region, Age, Age_Type, Sex, Disability, Value, confidence_interval, Numerator, denominator, samp_size

Publication release date: 16 October 2019

Updated: 30 September 2020

full page history

1. 30 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. 5 December 2019 In the section 'By ethnicity and area', the chart and table data, and corresponding commentary, has been updated. A data download file with data broken down by ethnicity and disability has also been added.
3. 16 October 2019 Updated with the latest available data (for 2018).

From: Office for National Statistics

Previous editions:

1. 7 June 2019
2. 6 April 2018

This page replaces 1 older page:

1. Length of time spent in unemployment

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