Place of work indicator variable: Census 2021

Definition of place of work indicator, categories, and changes since the 2011 Census for use with research and analysis using Census 2021 data.

Last updated:
28 November 2023

Mnemonic: place_of_work_ind
Applicability: Person
Type: Derived variable

Definition

Place of work indicator classifies people to the address of their main job.

Classification

Total number of categories: 6

Code Name
1 Mainly working at or from home
2 Offshore installation
3 No fixed place
4 Working outside the UK
5 Working in the UK but not working at or from home
-8 Does not apply*

*Students and schoolchildren living away during term-time, children aged 15 years and under, and people who were not employed in the week before 21 March 2021.

View all place of work indicator classifications.

Quality information

As Census 2021 was during a unique period of rapid change, take care when using Labour Market data for planning purposes.

Read more in our Labour market quality information for Census 2021 methodology.

Background

Read about how we developed and tested the questions for Census 2021.

Comparability with the 2011 Census

Not comparable

It is difficult to compare this variable with the 2011 Census because Census 2021 took place during a national lockdown. The government advice at the time was for people to work from home (if they can) and avoid public transport.

People who were furloughed (about 5.6 million) were advised to answer the transport to work question based on their previous travel patterns before or during the pandemic. This means that the data does not accurately represent what they were doing on Census Day. This variable cannot be directly compared with the 2011 Census Travel to Work data as it does not include people who were travelling to work on that day. It may however, be partially compared with bespoke tables from 2011.

What does not comparable mean?

A variable that is not comparable means that it cannot be compared with a variable from the 2011 Census.

England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland comparisons

Not comparable

The variable for Scotland includes those who are studying as well as working.

What does not comparable mean?

A variable that is not comparable means that it cannot be compared for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Find out more about variables produced for Census 2021 in Northern Ireland and Census 2022 in Scotland.

Census 2021 data that uses this variable

You can create a custom dataset.

Other datasets that use this variable