FOI reference: FOI-2025-2744
You asked
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I would like to request the following information:
- Occupational breakdown of domestic workers in private households using the most recent data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), Annual Population Survey (APS), or other relevant sources, please provide estimates of the number of people employed in private households (as their place of work) broken down by occupation. For example:
- Nanny / childcarer
- Cleaner / housekeeper
- Gardener
- Cook
- Chauffeur
- Other household staff
Please include any occupational coding used (e.g., SOC codes) and definitions.
2. Demographic & Employment Characteristics (if available) For each of the above occupational categories, please provide—where available:
- Employment status (e.g. PAYE, self-employed, informal)
- Weekly hours worked (banded if necessary)
- Gross hourly pay or weekly pay
- Gender and age profile
3. Trends Over Time
If available within cost limits, please also provide equivalent estimates for previous years (e.g., back to 2018) to assess trends in domestic employment by role.
4. Methodology or Limitations
Please include any caveats, sampling considerations, or methodological notes relevant to interpreting this data - especially in relation to informal employment or under-reporting in household-based jobs.
We said
Thank you for your request.
Under the UK Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities 2007 (SIC2007), the activities of households as employers of domestic personnel is classified to division 97.
Under the Standard Occupational Classification of the UK 2020 (SOC2020), the occupations you have expressed an interest in would be classified to:
- 6116 – Nannies and au pairs
- 6231 – Housekeepers and related occupations
- 5113 – Gardeners and landscape gardeners
- 5435 – Cooks
- 8213 – Taxi and cab drivers and chauffeurs
- 6240 – Cleaning and housekeeping managers and supervisors
The Annual Population Survey (APS) is based on interviews with people resident in households in the UK. The survey collects information on people who are in work and information about the work they are doing. This includes information on industry, occupation, employment status, hours, pay and personal characteristics.
Due to small sample sizes, we do not routinely produce or publish breakdowns from the survey based on an industry classification combined with an occupation classification.
You can request tailored breakdowns from the survey by contacting our social survey team on socialsurveys@ons.gov.uk. However, due to the relatively small size of division 97, the resultant analysis is unlikely to yield usable results. If you wish to request an analysis, there may be a charge for this service, depending on the amount of time taken to develop the analysis and undertake quality and disclosure control processes.
We regularly produce estimates of numbers employed in those detailed occupations from the APS, although these would include people within that occupation code across all industries. The report also includes a breakdown of numbers employed by employee and self-employed. It also allows you to produce the analysis for the different regions and countries of the UK, as well as for the UK.
The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) estimates the average hours worked and levels of earnings for employees working in different occupations.
Again, sample sizes would be too small to produce estimates within division 97.
However, we publish estimates of hours worked and earnings for detailed occupations, both for the UK and for the regions and countries of the UK.