Ward Labour Market Profile
Abbey

This summary gives an overview of the labour market within Abbey 2003 CAS ward which is in the South Norfolk local authority.

Resident population

Total population (2001)

Working age population (2001)

Labour Supply

Economically active (2001)

Economically inactive (2001)

Hours worked (2001)

Employment by occupation (2001)

Qualifications (2001)

Working-age benefits

Total JSA claimants (November 2008)

JSA claimants by age and duration (November 2008)

DWP benefit claimants (February 2008)

Definitions and Explanations

Most of the figures in this report are derived from the 2001 Census which was held on 29 April 2001. Further 2001 Census statistics are available from the Neighbourhood Statistics site for areas in England and Wales and the SCROL site for areas in Scotland (2001 Census data are not available from the Nomis wizard or advanced queries).

Census figures are used as these provide the only comprehensive source of labour market information at ward level. ONS' preferred source for this information at higher levels (local authority, parliamentary constituency, regions) is the Labour Force Survey. Although the ward profile includes comparative figures for local authorities and regions, ONS advises that at these geographic levels the LFS figures available in the local authority profile should be used in preference to the Census figures in the ward profile. Further information on comparing Census and LFS data is given below.

The wards used are referred to as CAS (Census Area Statistics) wards. These are based on administrative ward boundaries legally in force at the end of 2002, which includes ward boundaries that became operative in a number of local authorities in May 2003, and some others that become operative in May 2004.

In some cases, different tables may show different counts for the same population, this is due to disclosure protection measures used to prevent the inadvertent disclosure of information about identifiable individuals.

Resident Population

Population Base.The 2001 Census has been conducted on a resident basis. This means the statistics relate to where people usually live, as opposed to where they are on Census night. Students and schoolchildren studying away from the family home are counted as resident at their term-time address. As in 1981 and 1991, residents absent from home on Census night were required to be included on the Census form at their usual resident address. Wholly absent households were legally required to complete a Census form on their return.

Working age includes males aged 16 to 64 and females aged 16 to 59.

Labour Supply

Economic activity: They relate to whether or not a person was working or looking for work in the week before Census. The concept of Economic Activity is compatible with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) definition of economic status.

Economically active: All people who were working in the week before the Census are described as economically active. In addition, the category includes people who were not working but were looking for work and were available to start work within 2 weeks. Full-time students who are economically active are included.

Economic activity rate (working age): The number of people, who are economically active aged 16 to 59/64, expressed as a percentage of all people aged 16 to 59/64.

Economically inactive: Within the Economic Activity classification, a person is either Economically Active or Inactive. Specific categories of Economic Inactivity are: Retired, Student (excludes those students who were working or in some other way were economically active), Looking after family/ home, Permanently sick/ disabled and Other. A person who is looking for work but is not available to start work within 2 weeks is counted as Economically Inactive.

Main job: The main job is the job in which a person usually works the most hours. Questions on employment relate to each person’s main job.

In employment: Any person who did paid work in the week before the Census, whether as an employee or self-employed, is described as employed or in employment. ‘Paid work’ includes casual or temporary work, even if only for one hour; being on a government-sponsored training scheme; being away from a job/business ill, on maternity leave, on holiday or temporarily laid off; or doing paid or unpaid work for their own or family business.

Employment rate: The number of people in employment expressed as a percentage of the resident population.

Employee: The distinction between employee and self-employed is determined by the response to the question ‘Do (did) you work as an employee or are (were) you self-employed?’ It relates to the person’s main job in the week before the Census or, if not working in the week before the Census, their last main job.

Self-employed: The distinction between employee and self employed is determined by the response to the question ‘Do (did) you work as an employee or are (were) you self-employed?’ It relates to the person’s main job in the week before Census or, if not working in the week before Census, their last main job.

Hours worked: The question on how many hours a week a person usually works in their main job is used to derive whether a person is working full-time (31 hours or more a week) or part-time (30 hours or less per week).

Full-time working: Working full-time is defined as working 31 hours or more a week.

Part-time working: Working part-time is defined as working 30 hours or less a week.

Unemployed: A person is defined as unemployed if he or she is not in employment, is available to start work in the next 2 weeks and has either looked for work in the last 4 weeks or is waiting to start a new job. This is consistent with the International Labour Office (ILO) standard classification.

Occupation: A person’s occupation is coded from the response to the question asking for the full title of the Main job and the description of what is done in that job. It is coded to the 2000 edition of the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC).

Qualifications: The term ‘no qualifications’ describes people without any academic, vocational or professional qualifications. The term ‘lower level’ qualifications is used to describe qualifications equivalent to levels 1 to 3 of the National Key Learning Targets (i.e. GSCE’s O levels, A levels, NVQ levels 1-3). The term ’Higher level’ refers to qualifications of levels 4 and above (i.e. first degrees, higher degrees, NVQ levels 4 and 5, HND, HNC and certain professional qualifications).

Working-age Benefits

JSA claimant count records the number of people claiming Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) and National Insurance credits at Jobcentre Plus local offices. People claiming JSA must declare that they are out of work, capable of, available for and actively seeking work during the week in which the claim is made.

The percentage figures express the number of claimants resident in an area as a percentage of the working age population resident in that area. Working age is defined as 16-64 for males and 16-59 for females. The working age population figures used to calculate proportions are derived from the mid-2002 population estimates for local authorities and Great Britain, and mid-2001 population estimates for wards.

The count of total JSA claimants is mostly derived from the Jobcentre Plus computer records. For various reasons, e.g. when a claimant's National Insurance number is not known, a few claims have to be dealt with manually by local offices. These clerical claims, which amount to less than 1 per cent of the total, are counted separately and not analysed in as much detail as the computerised claims. The count of total JSA claimants includes clerical claims, but only the computerised claims are analysed by age and duration.

Labour Demand

Labour demand includes information about jobs available in an area. Figures on this topic will be added to the profile when the Census workplace data for CAS wards becomes available in May 2004.

Comparisons with LFS and Neighbourhood Statistics Census data

The 2001 Census asked people to answer a number of questions about different aspects of their working lives. These questions were developed to approximate to those used in ONS' Labour Force Survey (LFS), which is the basis for the labour supply tables in the Local Authority profile. These follow the internationally standard definitions set out in the guidelines of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). However, the Census is self-completed by householders which means that data from this source can be classified only approximately to the ILO definitions. Also, the Census includes people living in institutions, such as soldiers' barracks, which the LFS does not, at present, cover fully.

As a result, comparisons between the Census and LFS results on the labour market can only be approximate. To minimise the difference, the Census data in the Nomis ward profiles have been chosen to as closely match the LFS definitions as possible. The Nomis ward profile figures, therefore, generally differ to those available through the Neighbourhood Statistics site. The main reasons for this are:

• Treatment of full-time students. In the Neighbourhood Statistics Census figures, full-time students are not included in the separate figures for in employment or unemployed but are separately identified as economically active students. In the Nomis ward profiles, economically active students are included in either the in employment or unemployed categories to match the LFS definitions and ILO guidelines. Those in employment are considered to be employees.
• Age groupings. The Census results available through Neighbourhood Statistics cover the 16-74 age group, whereas the Census data in the Nomis ward profiles are typically presented for working age (16-64 for men and 16-59 for women).

In addition, there are a number of reasons why differences between the ways in which Census and LFS data are collected lead to differences in estimates between the two sources. Census forms were distributed to each household, which completed the form and returned it. LFS data is collected by interviewers, who can help the individual understand the questions and check some of the information as it is provided.

ONS advise that the greater definitional precision of the LFS is sufficiently important that aggregate estimates of employment, unemployment and inactivity from the LFS should be preferred to those from the Census.

ONS's expectation is that estimates of employment from the Census will be lower than those from the LFS, but estimates of unemployment will be higher.

Copyright

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