Employment in the UK: November 2019

Other commentary from the latest labour market data can be found on the following pages:

• Labour market overview

• Average weekly earnings in Great Britain

• Vacancies and jobs

• The UK employment rate was estimated at 76.0%; 0.5 percentage points higher than a year earlier but 0.1 percentage points lower than last quarter.

• The UK unemployment rate was estimated at 3.8%; 0.2 percentage points lower than a year earlier and 0.1 percentage points lower than last quarter.

• The UK economic inactivity rate was estimated at 20.8%; 0.3 percentage points lower than a year earlier but 0.1 percentage points higher than last quarter.

Employment measures the number of people aged 16 years and over in paid work. The employment rate is the proportion of people aged between 16 and 64 years who are in paid work.

Estimated employment rates for men and women aged between 16 and 64 years have generally been increasing since early 2012, reaching a record high of 76.1% in early 2019, however, the rates have levelled off in recent periods (as seen in Figure 1). For July to September 2019:

• the estimated employment rate for people was 76.0%; this is 0.5 percentage points up on the year, but 0.1 percentage points lower on the quarter

• the estimated employment rate for men was 80.3%; this is 0.2 percentage points up on the year and on the quarter

• the estimated employment rate for women was 71.8%; this is 0.8 percentage points up on the year, but 0.3 percentage points down on the quarter

The increase in the employment rate for women in recent years is partly a result of changes to the State Pension age for women, resulting in fewer women retiring between the ages of 60 and 65 years.

Estimates for July to September 2019 show 32.75 million people aged 16 years and over in employment, 323,000 more than a year earlier. This annual increase was mainly driven by women (up 226,000 on the year) and full-time workers (up 286,000 on the year), with the latter reaching a record high of 24.21 million. There was, however, a 58,000 decrease in employment on the quarter. This was driven by record quarterly decreases for women (down 93,000) and part-time workers (down 164,000), but partly offset by a 106,000 increase for full-time workers.

Looking at the estimates for July to September 2019 by type of employment:

• there were 27.62 million paid employees (84.3% of all people in employment), 110,000 more than a year earlier
• there were 4.96 million self-employed people (15.1% of all people in employment), 195,000 more than a year earlier

Since the latter half of 2012, the annual increases for employees have generally been greater than for the self-employed. However, the latest estimate shows the strongest annual increase for the self-employed since July to September 2016 (see Figure 2), making it larger than the annual increase for employees. Self-employed full-time workers and self-employed men are both at a record high (3.50 million and 3.32 million respectively).

These estimates for paid employees and self-employed people make up over 99% of all people in employment in the UK. The total employment figure also includes two other minor categories as explained in the Guide to labour market statistics.

Looking at employment level changes between July to September 2018 and July to September 2019 by age group (Figure 3), the only decrease was for those aged between 18 and 24 years (down 109,000). Employment levels increased on the year for all other age groups, with 50- to 64-year-olds (up 184,000) and 25- to 34-year-olds (up 136,000) showing the largest increases, the latter of which reached a record high of 7.59 million. This means that the annual employment increase was largely driven by those aged 25 years and over, with 18- to 24-year-olds partly offsetting the increase.

UK and non-UK workers

Since January to March 2009, the number of non-UK nationals from outside the EU working in the UK has been broadly flat; however there has been a slight increase since early 2018, with the level reaching a record high of 1.35 million in July to September 2019.

In contrast, the number of non-UK nationals from the EU working in the UK has generally increased, reflecting the admission of Poland and other East European countries to the EU in 2004. However, the series has been broadly flat since the latter half of 2016.

Looking at employment by nationality, between July to September 2018 and July to September 2019, the estimated number of:

• UK nationals working in the UK increased by 182,000 to a record high of 29.21 million

• non-UK nationals from the EU working in the UK increased by 6,000 to 2.24 million

• non -UK nationals from outside the EU working in the UK increased by 116,000 to a record high of 1.35 million

Hours worked

Between July to September 2018 and July to September 2019, total actual weekly hours worked in the UK increased by 1.0% (to reach 1.05 billion hours), whereas average actual weekly hours was largely unchanged (at 32.1 hours). Therefore, the annual increase in total hours is driven by the 1.0% increase in employment over the last year.

Since estimates began in 1971, total hours worked by women have generally increased (see Figure 5), reflecting increases in both the employment rate for women and the UK population. In contrast, total hours worked by men have been relatively stable, with the level in July to September 2019 being virtually the same as the level in January to March 1971 (628 million hours). This is because falls in the employment rate for men and increases in the share of part-time working have been roughly offset by population increases.

Unemployment measures people without a job who have been actively seeking work within the last four weeks and are available to start work within the next two weeks. The unemployment rate is not the proportion of the total population who are unemployed. It is the proportion of the economically active population (those in work plus those seeking and available to work) who are unemployed.

Estimated unemployment rates for both men and women aged 16 years and over have generally been falling since late 2013 but have levelled off in recent periods (as seen in Figure 6).

For July to September 2019:

• the estimated UK unemployment rate for all people was 3.8%; 0.2 percentage points lower than a year earlier and 0.1 percentage points lower than the previous quarter

• the estimated UK unemployment rate for men was 4.1%; 0.1 percentage points lower than a year earlier and 0.1 percentage points lower than the previous quarter

• the estimated UK unemployment rate for women was 3.6%, a joint record low; this is down 0.4 percentage points on the year and down 0.1 percentage points on the quarter

Between July to September 2014 and July to September 2019:

• the estimated unemployment rate for all people fell from 6.0% to 3.8%

• the estimated unemployment rate for men fell from 6.2% to 4.1%

• the estimated unemployment rate for women fell from 5.7% to 3.6%

For July to September 2019, an estimated 1.31 million people were unemployed, 72,000 fewer than a year earlier and 656,000 fewer than five years earlier.

Looking in more detail at this fall of 656,000 over the last five years:

• the estimated number of people unemployed for up to six months fell by 137,000 to 817,000, although the number has increased slightly over the last year

• for those unemployed for over six and up to 12 months, the number fell by 137,000 to 180,000

• the largest fall was for long-term unemployment (those unemployed for over one year), which was down 382,000 to 308,000

Economic inactivity measures people without a job but who are not classed as unemployed because they have not been actively seeking work within the last four weeks and/or they are unable to start work within the next two weeks. Our headline measure of economic inactivity is for those aged between 16 and 64 years.

Since comparable records began in 1971, the economic inactivity rate for all people aged between 16 and 64 years has been generally falling (although it increased during recessions). This is because of a gradual fall in the economic inactivity rate for women.

For people aged between 16 and 64 years, for July to September 2019:

• the estimated economic inactivity rate for all people was 20.8%; down 0.3 percentage points on the year but up 0.1 percentage points on the quarter

• the estimated economic inactivity rate for men was 16.2%; down 0.1 percentage points on both the year and on the quarter

• the estimated economic inactivity rate for women was 25.4%, down 0.5 percentage points on the year but up 0.3 percentage points on the quarter

Estimates for July to September 2019 showed 8.62 million people aged between 16 and 64 years not in the labour force (economically inactive). This was 110,000 fewer than a year earlier and 411,000 fewer than five years earlier.

Looking in more detail at the estimated fall of 411,000 in economic inactivity over the last five years, the categories showing the largest decreases were people looking after the family or home (down 321,000 to a record low) and those retiring from the labour force (down 191,000).

The fall was almost entirely driven by women, with a decrease of 386,000. This reflects changes to the State Pension age, resulting in fewer women retiring between the ages of 60 and 65 years, as well as more women in younger age groups participating in the labour market.  

Figure 11: There was a net flow of 131,000 from unemployment to employment

Flows between employment, unemployment and economic inactivity between April to June 2019 and July to September 2019, UK, seasonally adjusted

Source: Office for National Statistics - Labour Force Survey

Download this image Figure 11: There was a net flow of 131,000 from unemployment to employment

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Looking at estimates of flows between employment, unemployment and economic inactivity between April to June 2019 and July to September 2019, there was a net flow of:

• 131,000 people from unemployment to employment

• 109,000 people from economic inactivity to unemployment

• 28,000 people from employment to economic inactivity

Employment, unemployment and economic inactivity
Dataset A05 SA | Updated on 12 November 2019
Estimates of UK employment, unemployment and economic inactivity broken down into age bands.

Full-time, part-time and temporary workers
Dataset EMP01 SA | Updated on 12 November 2019
Estimates of UK employment including a breakdown by sex, type of employment, and full-time and part-time working.

Actual weekly hours worked
Dataset HOUR01 SA | Updated on 12 November 2019
Estimates for the hours that people in employment work in the UK.

Unemployment by age and duration
Dataset UNEM01 SA | Updated on 12 November 2019
Estimates of unemployment in the UK including a breakdown by sex, age group and the length of time people are unemployed.

Economic inactivity by reason
Dataset INAC01 SA | Updated on 12 November 2019
Estimates of those not in the UK labour force measured by the reasons given for inactivity.

Labour Force Survey sampling variability
Dataset A11 | Updated on 12 November 2019
Labour Force Survey sampling variability (95% confidence intervals).

Actual and usual hours worked

Statistics for usual hours worked measure how many hours people usually work per week. Compared with actual hours worked they are not affected by absences and so can provide a better measure of normal working patterns. For example, a person who usually works 37 hours a week but who was on holiday for a week would be recorded as working zero actual hours for that week, while usual hours would be recorded as 37 hours.

Economic inactivity

People not in the labour force (also known as economically inactive) are not in employment but do not meet the internationally accepted definition of unemployment because they have not been seeking work within the last four weeks and/or they are unable to start work in the next two weeks. The economic inactivity rate is the proportion of people aged between 16 and 64 years who are not in the labour force.

Employment

Employment measures the number of people in paid work, or had a job that they were temporarily away from (for example, because they were on holiday or off sick). This differs from the number of jobs because some people have more than one job. The employment rate is the proportion of people aged between 16 and 64 years who are in employment. A more detailed explanation is available in our Guide to labour market statistics.

Unemployment

Unemployment measures people without a job who have been actively seeking work within the last four weeks and are available to start work within the next two weeks. The unemployment rate is not the proportion of the total population who are unemployed. It is the proportion of the economically active population (those in work plus those seeking and available to work) who are unemployed.

A more detailed glossary is available.

This bulletin relies on data collected from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) the largest household survey in the UK.

The Quality and Methodology Information (QMI) report pulls together important qualitative information on the various dimensions of data quality and provides a summary of the methods used to compile the output.

The LFS performance and quality monitoring reports provide data on response rates and other quality-related issues for the LFS.

The figures in this bulletin come from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), which gathers information from a sample of households across the UK rather than from the whole population. The sample is designed to be as accurate as possible given practical limitations such as time and cost constraints. Results from sample surveys are always estimates, not precise figures. This can have an impact on how changes in the estimates should be interpreted, especially for short-term comparisons.

As the number of people available in the sample gets smaller, the variability of the estimates that we can make from that sample size gets larger. Estimates for small groups (for example, unemployed people aged between 16 and 17 years), which are based on small subsets of the LFS sample, are less reliable and tend to be more volatile than for larger aggregated groups (for example, the total number of unemployed people).

In general, changes in the numbers (and especially the rates) reported in this bulletin between three-month periods are small and are not usually greater than the level that can be explained by sampling variability. Short-term movements in reported rates should be considered alongside longer-term patterns in the series and corresponding movements in other sources to give a fuller picture.

Comparibility

The data in this bulletin follow internationally accepted definitions specified by the International Labour Organization. This ensures that the estimates for the UK are comparable with those for other countries.

Further information is available in A guide to labour market statistics.