Employment rate

Trends in North East employment, including the headline working age rate. This information is based on survey responses over a 12 month period and is updated every three months

Labour market
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Introduction

The latest local employment estimates were released in April 2025. They are based on responses to the Annual Population Survey (APS) over a 12-month period between January and December 2024. The next release will be in July 2025.

The headline employment rate measures the proportion of working age residents of an area who are in employment.  The 16 to 64 age group is used by the ONS as a proxy for working age, partly to simplify historical and international comparisons. People in employment include employees, self-employed people, unpaid family workers and those on government supported training and employment programmes.

Local labour market statistics are updated each quarter, with the latest time period having a nine month overlap with that of the previous release. The time series charts on this page follow ONS guidance and compare non-overlapping periods.


Trends and comparisons

70.6%

North East employment rate

(Jan 24-Dec 24)
% of residents aged 16 to 64
Below the England excluding London rate (75.8%)

-2.4 pp

compared to a year earlier

(pp = percentage points)
England excl. London rate
down by 0.5 pp.

8th

highest rate among nine similar areas

comparing the English combined authority areas
in the north and midlands.

75.6%

Gateshead employment rate

the highest rate among the seven North East local authority areas


Employment by sex and age

72.0%

male 16-64 employment rate

(Jan 24-Dec 24)
Below the England excl. London rate
(78.7%)

69.2%

female 16-64 employment rate

Below the England excl. London rate
(72.9%).
Smaller pp gap than for males

86.4%

male 35-49 employment rate

Highest rate among the
eight age / sex combinations.
Female equivalent: 77.5%
 

34%

of workers aged 50 and over

34% aged under 35.
Males and females, respectively,
50.5% and 49.5% of workers


Employment totals

896,300

North East residents in employment

Up 22,800 in the last decade,
down 9,100 in the latest five years.
Including resident workers aged 65+
who are not included in the headline rate.

868,700

North East workplace employment

Up 25,000 in the last decade,
down 300 in latest five years.
Excludes residents working elsewhere
or with no fixed workplace.
Includes in-commuters from other areas.

+63,100

Newcastle's estimated net in-commute

The only North East local authority area
with workplace employment higher
than the number of residents in work.
Workplace employment is more than
9,000 lower in each of the other six.

managerial and professional occupations

make up 62% of Newcastle's net in-commute,
58% of County Durham's net out-commute,
51% of South Tyneside's net out-commute.


Further analysis

The evidence hub includes other data reports that provide information about aspects of employment. It also features analysis of the labour market as a whole, including reports about unemployment, economic inactivity and pay.

Most of the raw data for these reports can be downloaded from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Employment types

Annual update of information about self-employment; part-time working; second jobs; temporary and zero hours work; and public sector employment.

Employment by sector

Annual update of information about the number of people in employment in VAT / PAYE registered businesses broken down by industry sector. Also included are updates of all employment by broad sector.

Employment by occupation

Annual update of data showing the occupational structure of the North East labour market.

Projected employment change

Projections of the types of jobs in the North East labour market, and the skills that workers will need, up to 2035. These DfE projections are updated every three or four years.

Labour market homepage

The evidence hub's labour market landing page. With links to data reports about employment, unemployment and economic inactivity.

Nomis labour market statistics website

Source data from an ONS site that provides a flexible way to download up-to-date official statistics for local areas. Nomis focuses on all aspects of the labour market, but also includes population estimates and some economic data. 

Regional labour market statistics

A summary of the latest labour market statistics for the broader North East region. Updated monthly and more up to date than combined authority level data, but less detailed.