Economic activity rate

Economic activity rate

In the April 2023 to March 2024 period, among those aged 16 to 64 (a proxy for working age):

• The North East economic activity rate was 74.8%
• the rate was about four percentage points (pp) below that of England excluding London, but the gap had narrowed in the latest year
• the latest North East rate was 1.0 pp higher than a year earlier but lower than in each of the six years from April 2015 to March 2021 
• the rate was the fourth lowest among the nine combined authority areas in the north and midlands
• at local authority level, County Durham had the highest rate, with South Tyneside having the lowest
• at constituency level, the highest North East rate was in City of Durham with the lowest in South Shields.

Economic activity by age and sex

In the North East in the April 2023 to March 2024 period:

• The female economic activity rate was 71.9%, with the male rate being 77.8%
• although the former was lower, the latter had a larger gap to the England excluding London equivalent (5.1 pp compared to 3.0 pp)
• both the female and male North East rates had increased by 1.0 pp in the latest year 
• comparing sex and age group combinations in the North East, the female and male rates were both highest among those aged 35 to 49
• the female rate was lowest among 16 to 24 year-olds but the male rate was lowest for the 50 to 64 age group
• the North East rate was only higher than the England excluding London equivalent among males aged 16 to 24
• compared to a year earlier, North East economic activity had increased most among males aged 16 to 24 and 35 to 49.

About the data

The headline economic activity rate measures the proportion of working age people who are active participants in the labour market.  The 16 to 64 age group is used by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) as a proxy for working age, partly to simplify historical and international comparisons.

Economically active people include all those in any type of employment and other people who are actively seeking a job. The latter are classified as unemployed. Anyone in neither of these categories is classified as economically inactive. 

The latest local labour market statistics are based on responses to the Annual Population Survey (APS) over a 12 month period between April 2023 and March 2024.

This information is updated each quarter, with the latest time period having a nine month overlap with that of the previous release. Our time series charts follow ONS guidance and compare non-overlapping periods.