1. Main points for April to June 2019
There were an estimated 29.08 million UK nationals working in the UK, 298,000 more than for a year earlier.
There were an estimated 2.37 million EU nationals working in the UK, 99,000 more than for a year earlier.
There were an estimated 1.29 million non-EU nationals working in the UK, 34,000 more than for a year earlier.
The data in this article come from the Labour Force Survey, a survey of households. It is not practical to survey every household each quarter, so these statistics are estimates based on a large sample.
2. Analysis
Employment
Figure 1: The number of EU nationals working in the UK has generally increased over the last 20 years
Non-UK nationals (aged 16 years and over) working in the UK, not seasonally adjusted, April to June 1999 to April to June 2019
Source: Office for National Statistics – Labour Force Survey
Notes:
- The EU series are based on the current membership of the EU; for example, Poland is included in the EU series throughout the entire time series, although Poland did not join the EU until 2004.
Download this chart Figure 1: The number of EU nationals working in the UK has generally increased over the last 20 years
Image .csv .xlsEmployment measures the number of people aged 16 years and over in paid work. The employment rate is the proportion of people aged from 16 to 64 years who are in paid work.
Since January to March 2009, the number of non-UK nationals from outside the EU working in the UK has been broadly flat. 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.
Looking at employment by nationality, between April to June 2018 and April to June 2019, the estimated number of:
UK nationals working in the UK increased by 298,000 to 29.08 million
non-UK nationals from the EU working in the UK increased by 99,000 to 2.37 million
non-UK nationals from outside the EU working in the UK increased by 34,000 to 1.29 million
Looking now at how the figures have changed since the EU referendum (which took place on 23 June 2016), between April to June 2016 and April to June 2019:
UK nationals working in the UK increased by 856,000 to 29.08 million
non-UK nationals from the EU working in the UK increased by 134,000 to 2.37 million
non-UK nationals from outside the EU working in the UK increased by 84,000 to 1.29 million
Figure 2: The number of non-UK-born people working in the UK has generally increased over the last 20 years
Non-UK-born people (aged 16 years and over) working in the UK, not seasonally adjusted, April to June 1999 to April to June 2019
Source: Office for National Statistics – Labour Force Survey
Notes:
- The EU series are based on the current membership of the EU; for example, Poland is included in the EU series throughout the entire time series, although Poland did not join the EU until 2004.
Download this chart Figure 2: The number of non-UK-born people working in the UK has generally increased over the last 20 years
Image .csv .xlsAs shown in Figure 2, the number of people working in the UK who were born in EU countries and born outside the EU has generally increased over the last 20 years. This contrasts with the figures for non-UK nationals, shown in Figure 1, as the number of non-EU nationals working in the UK has been broadly flat since 2009. This indicates that the increase in non-EU born people working in the UK has largely been due to more non-EU-born workers with British nationality.
For April to June 2019, there were 5.78 million people born abroad working in the UK, but the number of non-UK nationals working in the UK was much lower at 3.66 million. This is because the estimates for people born abroad working in the UK include many UK nationals.
Looking at the employment estimates by country of birth between April to June 2018 and April to June 2019, the number of:
people born in the UK working in the UK increased by 246,000 to 26.97 million
people born in the EU working in the UK increased by 88,000 to 2.44 million
people born outside the EU working in the UK increased by 91,000 to 3.34 million
Figure 3: Since the mid-2000s, the employment rate for EU nationals has been higher than that for UK nationals
Employment rates for UK and non-UK nationals (aged 16 to 64 years), not seasonally adjusted, April to June 1999 to April to June 2019
Source: Office for National Statistics – Labour Force Survey
Notes:
- The EU series are based on the current membership of the EU; for example, Poland is included in the EU series throughout the entire time series, although Poland did not join the EU until 2004.
Download this chart Figure 3: Since the mid-2000s, the employment rate for EU nationals has been higher than that for UK nationals
Image .csv .xlsAs shown in Figure 3, the employment rate for non-UK nationals from the EU has been higher than that for UK nationals since the mid-2000s. This reflects higher employment rates (and correspondingly low economic inactivity rates) for migrants from East European countries within the EU.
The estimated employment rates for non-UK nationals from outside the EU have been consistently lower than those for UK nationals and for EU nationals. This has been partly owing to lower participation in the labour market from some population groups, for example, Pakistani and Bangladeshi nationals.
Unemployment
Figure 4: The unemployment rate for non-EU nationals has been consistently higher than that for UK and EU nationals
Unemployment rates for UK and non-UK nationals (aged 16 years and over), not seasonally adjusted, April to June 1999 to April to June 2019
Source: Office for National Statistics – Labour Force Survey
Notes:
- The EU series are based on the current membership of the EU; for example, Poland is included in the EU series throughout the entire time series, although Poland did not join the EU until 2004.
Download this chart Figure 4: The unemployment rate for non-EU nationals has been consistently higher than that for UK and EU nationals
Image .csv .xlsUnemployment 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 the proportion of all employed and unemployed people (not the proportion of the total population) who are unemployed.
As shown in Figure 4, the unemployment rate for non-UK nationals from the EU has been broadly similar to that for UK nationals, but the unemployment rate for non-UK nationals from outside the EU has been consistently higher. The unemployment rates for non-UK nationals are more volatile than the rate for UK nationals owing to smaller sample sizes. This is because of sampling variability issues as explained in the Strengths and limitations section of this article.
Economic inactivity
Figure 5: Since the mid-2000s, the economic inactivity rate for EU nationals has been lower than that for UK nationals
Economic inactivity rates (aged 16 to 64 years) for UK and non-UK nationals, not seasonally adjusted, April to June 1999 to April to June 2019
Source: Office for National Statistics – Labour Force Survey
Notes:
- The EU series are based on the current membership of the EU; for example, Poland is included in the EU series throughout the entire time series, although Poland did not join the EU until 2004.
Download this chart Figure 5: Since the mid-2000s, the economic inactivity rate for EU nationals has been lower than that for UK nationals
Image .csv .xlsEconomic 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 from 16 to 64 years.
As shown in Figure 5, the economic inactivity rate for non-UK nationals from the EU has been lower than that for UK nationals since the mid-2000s. This reflects low economic inactivity rates (and correspondingly high employment rates) among migrants from East European countries within the EU.
The economic inactivity rates for non-UK nationals from outside the EU have been consistently higher than those for UK nationals and EU nationals. This has been partly owing to lower participation in the labour market from some population groups, for example, Pakistani and Bangladeshi nationals.
As shown in Figure 5, the economic inactivity rates for non-UK nationals are more volatile than the rates for UK nationals. This is because of smaller sample sizes, although they are less volatile than the unemployment rates shown in Figure 4. This is owing to sampling variability issues as explained in the Strengths and limitations section of this article.
Back to table of contents3. Data
Employment, unemployment and economic inactivity by nationality and country of birth
Dataset A12 | Released 13 August 2019
Estimates of labour market activity by nationality and country of birth, sourced from the Labour Force Survey.
Employment by country of birth and nationality
Dataset EMP06 | Released 13 August 2019
Estimates of employment by country of birth and nationality, sourced from the Labour Force Survey. This dataset provides a more detailed country breakdown of employment than that available at Dataset A12.
The sampling variability estimates shown in Tables 1, 2 and 3 are for 95% confidence intervals and are calculated on data that are not seasonally adjusted.
Age group | Estimate | Sampling variability of estimate | Sampling variability of change on year | |
---|---|---|---|---|
All people in employment (000s) | 16+ | 32,752 | ± 177 | ± 238 |
All people employment rate | 16 to 64 | 76.0% | ± 0.4 | ± 0.5 |
UK nationals in employment (000s) | 16+ | 29,084 | ± 210 | ± 279 |
UK nationals employment rate | 16 to 64 | 76.1% | ± 0.4 | ± 0.6 |
Non UK nationals in employment (000s) | 16+ | 3,661 | ± 134 | ± 177 |
Non UK nationals employment rate | 16 to 64 | 75.0% | ± 1.3 | ± 1.9 |
UK born people in employment (000s) | 16+ | 26,967 | ± 215 | ± 286 |
UK born employment rate | 16 to 64 | 76.3% | ± 0.4 | ± 0.6 |
Non UK born people in employment (000s) | 16+ | 5,777 | ± 152 | ± 201 |
Non UK born employment rate | 16 to 64 | 74.6% | ± 1.0 | ± 1.5 |
Download this table Table 1: Sampling variability (95% confidence intervals) of UK and non-UK employment estimates from the Labour Force Survey, April to June 2019
.xls .csv
Age group | Estimate | Sampling variability of estimate | Sampling variability of change on year | |
---|---|---|---|---|
All unemployed people (000s) | 16+ | 1,296 | ± 68 | ± 95 |
All people unemployment rate | 16+ | 3.8% | ± 0.2 | ± 0.3 |
UK nationals unemployed (000s) | 16+ | 1,110 | ± 63 | ± 88 |
UK nationals unemployment rate | 16+ | 3.7% | ± 0.2 | ± 0.3 |
Non UK nationals unemployed (000s) | 16+ | 186 | ± 29 | ± 40 |
Non UK nationals unemployment rate | 16+ | 4.8% | ± 0.7 | ± 1.0 |
UK born unemployed people (000s) | 16+ | 1,015 | ± 59 | ± 83 |
UK born unemployment rate | 16+ | 3.6% | ± 0.2 | ± 0.3 |
Non UK born unemployed people (000s) | 16+ | 280 | ± 37 | ± 50 |
Non UK born unemployment rate | 16+ | 4.6% | ± 0.6 | ± 0.8 |
Download this table Table 2: Sampling variability (95% confidence intervals) of UK and non-UK unemployment estimates from the Labour Force Survey, April to June 2019
.xls .csv
Age group | Estimate | Sampling variability of estimate | Sampling variability of change on year | |
---|---|---|---|---|
All economically inactive people (000s) | 16 to 64 | 8,659 | ± 154 | ± 208 |
All people economic inactivity rate | 16 to 64 | 21.0% | ± 0.4 | ± 0.5 |
UK nationals economically inactive (000s) | 16 to 64 | 7,621 | ± 148 | ± 198 |
UK nationals economic inactivity rate | 16 to 64 | 20.9% | ± 0.4 | ± 0.5 |
Non UK nationals economically inactive (000s) | 16 to 64 | 1,023 | ± 73 | ± 99 |
Non UK nationals economic inactivity rate | 16 to 64 | 21.2% | ± 1.3 | ± 1.7 |
UK born economically inactive people (000s) | 16 to 64 | 7,006 | ± 141 | ± 189 |
UK born economic inactivity rate | 16 to 64 | 20.8% | ± 0.4 | ± 0.5 |
Non UK born economically inactive people (000s) | 16 to 64 | 1,640 | ± 85 | ± 117 |
Non UK born economic inactivity rate | 16 to 64 | 21.7% | ± 1.0 | ± 1.3 |
Download this table Table 3: Sampling variability (95% confidence intervals) of UK and non-UK economic inactivity estimates from the Labour Force Survey, April to June 2019
.xls .csv4. Glossary
Country of birth
Country of birth refers to the country that a person was born in and cannot change. However, not all non-UK-born people are foreign nationals. The numbers of non-UK-born people include British citizens who were born abroad, such as children of military personnel or other British workers stationed abroad.
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 from 16 to 64 years who are not in the labour force.
Employment
Employment measures the number of people in paid work and differs from the number of jobs because some people have more than one job. The employment rate is the proportion of people aged from 16 to 64 years who are in paid work.
Nationality
Nationality refers to the nationality stated by the Labour Force Survey respondent when they were interviewed. Nationality can change over time; for example, some people come to the UK as non-UK nationals and later obtain British citizenship. Some non-UK nationals, such as children of overseas nationals, were born in the UK.
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.
Back to table of contents5. Measuring the data
This article relies on data collected from the Labour Force Survey, 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, as well as providing a summary of the methods used to compile the output.
The Labour Force Survey performance and quality monitoring reports provide data on response rates and other quality-related issues for the Labour Force Survey.
Back to table of contents6. Strengths and limitations
The figures in this article come from the Labour Force Survey, 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, South African nationals working in the UK), which are based on quite small subsets of the Labour Force Survey sample, are less reliable and tend to be more volatile than for larger aggregated groups (for example, the total number of non-UK nationals in employment).
In general, changes in the numbers (and especially the rates) reported in this article 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.
These statistics do not measure stocks or flows of recent migrants to the UK, because they include people resident in the UK for many years (many of whom will now be UK nationals) as well as more recent arrivals. This, along with a range of other factors, means that net changes in the number of non-UK workers in the UK cannot be directly compared with long-term net migration for non-UK nationals. Estimates of migration are published separately in the Migration statistics quarterly report.
The employment estimates in this article do not relate to “new jobs” and cannot be used to estimate the proportion of new jobs that have been filled by UK and non-UK workers. This is because changes in the employment series show net changes in the number of people in work (the number of people entering employment minus the number of people leaving employment). The number of people entering or leaving employment is much larger than the net changes. Also, the estimates of the number of people in work differ from the number of jobs because some people have more than one job.
Back to table of contents7. You might also be interested in
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