Working-age adults lacking work over time
Key points
- The proportion of working-age adults lacking work in Inner London is higher than the average for the rest of England.
- The total proportion of working-age adults not working in London in 2009 was higher than it was in 1999.
- Compared to other large English cities, the proportion of working-age adults in London who are not working is unexceptional.
The proportion of individuals lacking paid work, over time
What do the graphs show?
At 33%, the proportion of working-age adults lacking work in Inner London is much higher than the average for the rest of England (26%). The proportion in Outer London is also above that average.
In the decade to 2009, the proportion of working-age adults lacking work remained constant in Inner London and rose slightly in Outer London. Over the same period, the proportion of adults lacking work in the rest of England also rose slightly.
In Inner London in the last decade, proportion of adults lacking but wanting work decreased from 16% to 14%, and the proportion lacking and not wanting work increased from 17% to 19%. In outer London, there was an increase in both categories.
Terms such as 'lack' and 'want' are used in a neutral sense here. In particular, people can have perfectly good reasons for not wanting paid work. They could be spending their time doing non-paid work, including caring for relatives or friends. Or they may have a long term illness or disability.
Data used
Labour Force Survey, ONS, 4 quarters of 1999 and 2009;
Indicator last updated: 13 July 2010
Topic:
Groups:
Boroughs:
- Barking and Dagenham
- Barnet
- Bexley
- Brent
- Bromley
- Camden
- City of London
- Croydon
- Ealing
- Enfield
- Greenwich
- Hackney
- Hammersmith and Fulham
- Haringey
- Harrow
- Havering
- Hillingdon
- Hounslow
- Islington
- Kensington and Chelsea
- Kingston upon Thames
- Lambeth
- Lewisham
- Merton
- Newham
- Redbridge
- Richmond upon Thames
- Southwark
- Sutton
- Tower Hamlets
- Waltham Forest
- Wandsworth
- Westminster
Work and worklessness
- Working-age adults lacking work by borough
- Children in workless households over time
- Unemployment rates over time
- Unemployment in London by age
- Part-time work
- Young adult unemployment
- Unemployment, worklessness and underemployment
- Unemployment by borough
- Worklessness by gender and ethnicity
- Worklessness by gender and country of birth
- Worklessness by disability status
Case Study
Case study: Daryl
Daryl, a British citizen aged 53, spent most of his life in the USA. He returned to the UK in 2006 after a divorce. He worked as a truck driver in the USA and ran a cleaning business. When I...More…
Glossary
Lacking but not wanting work:
Someone of working-age who is not officially unemployed and does not want work
Lacking but wanting work:
Someone who is either unemployed or wanting work but not available to start work or wanting work but not actively seeking work
Outer London:
Barking & Dagenham, Barnet, Bromley, Bexley, Brent, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames, Merton, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames, Sutton, Waltham Forest
Inner London:
Camden, Hackney, Hammersmith & Fulham, Haringey, Islington, Kensington & Chelsea, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth, Westminster