Economic activity status (2021 census)

Census 2021 data showing the percentages of adults participating in and absent from the labour market, with detail that is unavailable from other sources.

Census 2021
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The economic activity status of an adult in the census summarises whether or not they were actively participating in the labour market in March 2021. Non-workers were classified as either unemployed or economically inactive depending on their responses to the census. Those who indicated that they were actively seeking work were defined as unemployed. All other non-workers were defined as economically inactive and were asked about the main reason for not working.

The census provides a snapshot of labour market data and more up to date headline statistics are available via the hub's employment and skills page. The added value if the census is that it provides detailed information that is unavailable from other sources. The charts of economic activity by single year of age on this page are a good example, as are the maps of economic activity for small areas.

 


Economic activity status by single year of age


Employment by single year of age


Non-workers by single year of age


Geographical comparisons


Mapping economic activity status in small areas

The ONS interactive census map shown below is embedded in this and other Evidence Hub pages. It allows users to view geographical patterns in census datasets interactively. 

We have set up the map to show the percentage of adults in each local authority area that was employed in 2021. However, the economic activity being mapped can be changed using the controls to the left of the map. In addition, the zoom function can be used to view patterns for small areas for each variable.

For more information about this mapping tool, visit the ONS website.

 


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