England and Wales Census 2021 - TS066: Economic activity status

This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify usual residents aged 16 years and over in England and Wales by economic activity status. The estimates are as at Census Day, 21 March 2021.

As Census 2021 was during a unique period of rapid change, take care when using this data for planning purposes.

Read more about this quality notice.

Economic activity status (20 categories)

People aged 16 years and over are economically active if, between 15 March and 21 March 2021, they were:

  • in employment (an employee or self-employed)

  • unemployed, but looking for work and could start within two weeks

  • unemployed, but waiting to start a job that had been offered and accepted

It is a measure of whether or not a person was an active participant in the labour market during this period. Economically inactive are those aged 16 years and over who did not have a job between 15 March to 21 March 2021 and had not looked for work between 22 February to 21 March 2021 or could not start work within two weeks.

The census definition differs from International Labour Organization definition used on the Labour Force Survey, so estimates are not directly comparable.

Area type

Census 2021 statistics are published for a number of different geographies. These can be large, for example the whole of England, or small, for example an output area (OA), the lowest level of geography for which statistics are produced.

For higher levels of geography, more detailed statistics can be produced. When a lower level of geography is used, such as output areas (which have a minimum of 100 persons), the statistics produced have less detail. This is to protect the confidentiality of people and ensure that individuals or their characteristics cannot be identified.

Lower Tier Local Authorities

Lower tier local authorities provide a range of local services. In England there are 309 lower tier local authorities. These are made up of non-metropolitan districts (181), unitary authorities (59), metropolitan districts (36) and London boroughs (33, including City of London). In Wales there are 22 local authorities made up of 22 unitary authorities. Of these local authority types, only non-metropolitan districts are not additionally classified as upper tier local authorities.

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Version 3
Last Updated February 17, 2023, 15:12 (GMT)
Created December 12, 2022, 16:14 (GMT)
Visibility Public
Year 2021
Topics Labour market
Units Persons
Geographic Layer Countries
Local Authorities
Lower Super Output Areas
Middle Super Output Areas
Output Areas
Regions
Westminster Parliamentary Constituencies
Frequency Decennial
DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.5257/census/aggregate-2021-1
Citation Office for National Statistics; National Records of Scotland; Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency; UK Data Service. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5257/census/aggregate-2021-1
Geographical Coverage Location England and Wales
Granularity Country level down to OA
Geographic Spatial data {"geo_type": "polygon", "lat": "52.4036", "lon": "-1.93872", "left": "-6.53687", "top": "55.8275", "right": "1.98853", "bottom": "49.6694", "srid": null, "accuracy": null, "source": null}