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The profile brings together data from several sources. Details about
these and related terminology are given in the
definitions section.
All figures are the most recent available.
|
West Midlands (numbers) |
West Midlands (numbers) |
Great Britain (numbers) |
All people |
2,918,300 |
5,956,200 |
65,078,900 |
Males |
1,432,400 |
2,929,300 |
31,833,600 |
Females |
1,485,800 |
3,026,900 |
33,245,300 |
Source: ONS Population estimates - local authority based by five year age band
|
|
West Midlands (numbers) |
West Midlands (%) |
West Midlands (%) |
Great Britain (%) |
All people aged 16-64 |
1,844,300 |
63.2 |
61.9 |
62.9 |
Males aged 16-64 |
908,400 |
63.4 |
62.3 |
63.3 |
Females aged 16-64 |
935,900 |
63.0 |
61.4 |
62.6 |
Source: ONS Population estimates - local authority based by five year age band
Notes: % is a proportion of total population
|
|
West Midlands (numbers) |
West Midlands (%) |
West Midlands (%) |
Great Britain (%) |
All people |
Economically active† |
1,422,600 |
73.9 |
77.7 |
78.4 |
In employment† |
1,342,000 |
69.6 |
74.7 |
75.5 |
Employees† |
1,189,500 |
61.9 |
66.2 |
66.1 |
Self employed† |
149,700 |
7.6 |
8.4 |
9.2 |
Unemployed§ |
80,600 |
5.7 |
3.8 |
3.7 |
Males |
Economically active† |
772,500 |
80.2 |
82.5 |
82.2 |
In employment† |
718,300 |
74.4 |
78.7 |
78.8 |
Employees† |
611,700 |
63.7 |
67.0 |
66.8 |
Self employed† |
104,700 |
10.7 |
11.5 |
11.8 |
Unemployed§ |
54,200 |
7.0 |
4.6 |
4.0 |
Females |
Economically active† |
650,100 |
67.6 |
72.9 |
74.7 |
In employment† |
623,700 |
64.8 |
70.7 |
72.1 |
Employees† |
577,800 |
60.2 |
65.3 |
65.4 |
Self employed† |
45,100 |
4.5 |
5.3 |
6.6 |
Unemployed§ |
26,400 |
4.1 |
3.0 |
3.4 |
Source: ONS annual population survey
† - numbers are for those aged 16 and over, % are for
those aged 16-64
§ - numbers and % are for those aged 16 and over. % is
a proportion of economically active
|
|
West Midlands (level) |
West Midlands (%) |
West Midlands (%) |
Great Britain (%) |
All people |
Total |
488,500 |
26.1 |
22.3 |
21.6 |
Student |
140,100 |
28.7 |
26.5 |
26.8 |
looking after family/home |
120,100 |
24.6 |
22.0 |
18.9 |
temporary sick |
5,900 |
1.2 |
1.3 |
2.0 |
long-term sick |
154,700 |
31.7 |
30.3 |
28.1 |
discouraged |
! |
! |
# |
0.4 |
retired |
27,100 |
5.6 |
9.1 |
12.9 |
other |
38,200 |
7.8 |
10.2 |
11.0 |
|
wants a job |
92,200 |
18.9 |
19.3 |
17.8 |
does not want a job |
396,300 |
81.1 |
80.7 |
82.2 |
Source: ONS annual population survey
Notes: numbers are for those aged 16-64.
% is a proportion of those economically inactive, except total, which is a proportion of those aged 16-64
|
|
West Midlands
|
West Midlands
|
Great Britain
|
Number of Workless Households |
146,900 |
245,700 |
2,862,100 |
Percentage of Households that are Workless |
16.0 |
13.5 |
13.9 |
Number of children in Workless Households |
87,100 |
128,600 |
1,196,600 |
Percentage of children who are in Households that are Workless |
13.7 |
10.6 |
9.8 |
Source: ONS annual population survey - households by combined economic activity status
Notes: Only includes those households that have at least one person aged 16 to 64.
Children refers to all children aged under 16.
|
|
West Midlands (numbers) |
West Midlands (%) |
West Midlands (%) |
Great Britain (%) |
Soc 2020 major group 1-3 |
643,900 |
48.1 |
48.8 |
52.9 |
1 Managers, directors and senior officials |
97,000 |
7.2 |
9.8 |
11.0 |
2 Professional occupations |
352,800 |
26.3 |
24.7 |
26.6 |
3 Associate professional occupations |
194,100 |
14.5 |
14.2 |
15.3 |
Soc 2020 major group 4-5 |
249,800 |
18.7 |
19.0 |
18.2 |
4 Administrative & secretarial occupations |
133,600 |
10.0 |
9.7 |
9.4 |
5 Skilled trades occupations |
116,200 |
8.7 |
9.3 |
8.7 |
Soc 2020 major group 6-7 |
187,900 |
14.0 |
14.1 |
14.6 |
6 Caring, leisure and Other Service occupations |
111,100 |
8.3 |
8.3 |
8.4 |
7 Sales and customer service occs |
76,800 |
5.7 |
5.8 |
6.2 |
Soc 2020 major group 8-9 |
257,400 |
19.2 |
18.1 |
14.3 |
8 Process plant & machine operatives |
99,600 |
7.4 |
6.5 |
5.4 |
9 Elementary occupations |
157,800 |
11.8 |
11.6 |
8.9 |
Source: ONS annual population survey
Notes: Numbers and % are for those of 16+
% is a proportion of all persons in employment
|
|
West Midlands (level) |
West Midlands (%) |
West Midlands (%) |
Great Britain (%) |
RQF4 and above |
758,500 |
41.6 |
42.5 |
47.3 |
RQF3 and above |
1,106,300 |
60.7 |
63.6 |
67.8 |
RQF2 and above |
1,480,700 |
81.3 |
84.3 |
86.5 |
RQF1 and above |
1,539,800 |
84.5 |
87.5 |
89.0 |
Other qualifications |
117,900 |
6.5 |
5.2 |
4.6 |
No qualifications |
164,000 |
9.0 |
7.3 |
6.5 |
Source: ONS annual population survey
Notes: For an explanation of the qualification levels see the definitions section.
Numbers and % are for those of aged 16-64
% is a proportion of resident population of area aged 16-64
|
Under Universal Credit a broader span of claimants are required to look for work than under Jobseeker's Allowance.
As Universal Credit Full Service is rolled out in particular areas, the number of people recorded
as being on the Claimant Count is therefore likely to rise.
|
West Midlands (numbers) |
West Midlands (%) |
West Midlands (%) |
Great Britain (%) |
All people |
152,165 |
8.3 |
5.8 |
4.3 |
Males |
84,595 |
9.3 |
6.5 |
4.7 |
Females |
67,570 |
7.2 |
5.2 |
3.9 |
Source: ONS Claimant count by sex and age
Note: % is the number of claimants as a proportion of resident population of area aged 16-64 and gender
|
|
West Midlands (level) |
West Midlands (%) |
West Midlands (%) |
Great Britain (%) |
Aged 16+ |
152,165 |
8.3 |
5.8 |
4.3 |
Aged 16 to 17 |
165 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
Aged 18 to 24 |
26,945 |
9.5 |
7.6 |
5.4 |
Aged 18 to 21 |
15,965 |
9.7 |
8.1 |
5.8 |
Aged 25 to 49 |
92,090 |
9.5 |
6.9 |
4.9 |
Aged 50+ |
32,960 |
6.4 |
4.1 |
3.2 |
Source: ONS Claimant count by sex and age
Note: % is number of claimants as a proportion of resident population of the same age
|
|
West Midlands (jobs) |
West Midlands (density) |
West Midlands (density) |
Great Britain (density) |
Jobs density |
1,454,000 |
0.79 |
0.83 |
0.87 |
Source: ONS jobs density
Notes: The density figures represent the ratio of total jobs to population aged 16-64.
Total jobs includes employees, self-employed, government-supported trainees and HM Forces
|
|
West Midlands (employee jobs) |
West Midlands (%) |
West Midlands (%) |
Great Britain (%) |
Total employee jobs |
1,334,000 |
- |
- |
- |
Full-time |
913,000 |
68.4 |
68.5 |
68.8 |
Part-time |
421,000 |
31.6 |
31.5 |
31.2 |
Employee jobs by industry |
B : Mining and quarrying |
125 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.1 |
C : Manufacturing |
120,000 |
9.0 |
10.2 |
7.5 |
D : Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply |
5,000 |
0.4 |
0.5 |
0.4 |
E : Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities |
13,000 |
1.0 |
0.9 |
0.7 |
F : Construction |
53,000 |
4.0 |
4.4 |
4.8 |
G : Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles |
190,000 |
14.2 |
15.3 |
13.7 |
H : Transportation and storage |
74,000 |
5.5 |
6.1 |
5.0 |
I : Accommodation and food service activities |
99,000 |
7.4 |
7.5 |
8.0 |
J : Information and communication |
38,000 |
2.8 |
3.1 |
4.6 |
K : Financial and insurance activities |
39,000 |
2.9 |
2.2 |
3.4 |
L : Real estate activities |
25,000 |
1.9 |
1.7 |
1.9 |
M : Professional, scientific and technical activities |
110,000 |
8.2 |
8.2 |
9.3 |
N : Administrative and support service activities |
129,000 |
9.7 |
8.7 |
8.7 |
O : Public administration and defence; compulsory social security |
63,000 |
4.7 |
4.2 |
4.7 |
P : Education |
131,000 |
9.8 |
8.9 |
8.6 |
Q : Human health and social work activities |
195,000 |
14.6 |
13.6 |
13.9 |
R : Arts, entertainment and recreation |
25,000 |
1.9 |
2.4 |
2.6 |
S : Other service activities |
25,000 |
1.9 |
2.0 |
1.9 |
Source: ONS Business Register and Employment Survey : open access
- Data unavailable
Notes: % is a proportion of total employee jobs excluding farm-based agriculture
Employee jobs excludes self-employed, government-supported trainees and HM Forces
Data excludes farm-based agriculture
|
|
West Midlands (numbers) |
West Midlands (%) |
West Midlands (numbers) |
West Midlands (%) |
Enterprises |
Micro (0 to 9) |
81,520 |
88.7 |
192,235 |
88.9 |
Small (10 to 49) |
8,455 |
9.2 |
19,495 |
9.0 |
Medium (50 to 249) |
1,515 |
1.6 |
3,445 |
1.6 |
Large (250+) |
450 |
0.5 |
960 |
0.4 |
Total |
91,940 |
- |
216,135 |
- |
Local Units |
Micro (0 to 9) |
90,320 |
83.0 |
211,955 |
83.8 |
Small (10 to 49) |
14,465 |
13.3 |
32,695 |
12.9 |
Medium (50 to 249) |
3,440 |
3.2 |
7,240 |
2.9 |
Large (250+) |
540 |
0.5 |
1,100 |
0.4 |
Total |
108,760 |
- |
252,985 |
- |
Source: Inter Departmental Business Register (ONS)
Note: % is as a proportion of total (enterprises or local units)
|
- Resident Population
-
The estimated population of an area includes all those usually resident in the area, whatever their nationality.
HM Forces stationed outside the United Kingdom are excluded but foreign forces stationed here are included.
Students are taken to be resident at their term-time address.
- Labour Supply
-
Labour supply consists of people who are employed, as well as those people defined as unemployed or economically inactive, who can be considered to be potential labour supply. Information in this section relates to the characteristics of people living in an area.
Most labour supply data comes from the Annual Population Survey (APS). The APS is the largest regular household survey in the United Kingdom. It includes data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), plus further sample boosts in England, Wales and Scotland. The survey includes data from a sample of around 256,000 people aged 16 and over.
As APS estimates are based on samples, they are subject to sampling variability. This means that if another sample for the same period were drawn, a different estimate might be produced. In general, the larger the number of people in a sample, the smaller the variation between estimates. Estimates for smaller areas such as local authorities are therefore less reliable than those for larger areas such as regions. When the sample size is too small to produce reliable estimates, the estimates are replaced with a #.
- Economically Active
-
- Economically active
- People who are either in employment or unemployed.
- Economic activity rate
- People, who are economically active, expressed as a percentage of all people.
- In employment
- People who did some paid work in the reference week (whether as an employee or self employed); those who had a job that they were temporarily away from (eg, on holiday); those on government-supported training and employment programmes; and those doing unpaid family work.
- Employment rate
- The number of people in employment expressed as a percentage of all people aged 16-64.
- Employees and self employed
-
The division between employees and self employed is based on survey respondents' own assessment of their employment status. The percentage show the number in each category as a percentage of all people aged 16-64. The sum of employees and self employed will not equal the in employment figure due to the inclusion of those on government-supported training and employment programmes, and those doing unpaid family work in the latter.
- Unemployed
-
Refers to people without a job who were available to start work in the two weeks following their interview and who had either looked for work in the four weeks prior to interview or were waiting to start a job they had already obtained.
- Unemployment rate
- Unemployed as a percentage of the economically active population.
- Economically inactive
-
- Economically inactive
-
People who are neither in employment nor unemployed. This group includes, for example, all those who were looking after a home or retired.
- Wanting a job
-
People not in employment who want a job but are not classed as unemployed because they have either not sought work in the last four weeks or are not available to start work.
- Not wanting a job
- People who are neither in employment nor unemployed and who do not want a job.
- Workless Households
-
- Households
-
A household is defined as a single person, or a group of people living at the same address who have the address as their only or main residence and either share one main meal a day or share living accommodation (or both). For the purposes of this table, estimates only include those households where at least 1 person is aged 16 to 64.
- Workless households
-
Households where no-one aged 16 or over is in employment. These members may be unemployed or economically inactive. Economically inactive members may be unavailable to work because of family commitments, retirement or study, or unable to work through sickness or disability.
- Children
-
Children refers to all children under 16.
- Occupation
-
Occupations are classified according to the Standard Occupation Classification 2000. Descriptions of the job titles included in each code are available in the SOC manuals.
- Qualifications
-
Qualifications data are only be available from the APS for calendar year periods, for example, Jan to Dec 2005. The variables show the total number of people who are qualified at a particular level and above, so data in this table are not additive. Separate figures for each NVQ level are available in the full Annual Population Survey data set (Query data).
The trade apprenticeships are split 50/50 between NVQ level 2 and 3. This follows ONS policy for presenting qualifications data in publications. Separate counts for trade apprenticeships can be obtained from the full APS data set (Query data).
- No qualifications
- No formal qualifications held.
- Other qualifications
- includes foreign qualifications and some professional qualifications.
- NVQ 1 equivalent
- e.g. fewer than 5 GCSEs at grades A-C, foundation GNVQ, NVQ 1, intermediate 1 national qualification (Scotland) or equivalent.
- NVQ 2 equivalent
- e.g. 5 or more GCSEs at grades A-C, intermediate GNVQ, NVQ 2, intermediate 2 national qualification (Scotland) or equivalent.
- NVQ 3 equivalent
- e.g. 2 or more A levels, advanced GNVQ, NVQ 3, 2 or more higher or advanced higher national qualifications (Scotland) or equivalent.
- NVQ 4 equivalent and above
- e.g. HND, Degree and Higher Degree level qualifications or equivalent.
- Out-Of-Work Benefits
-
- Claimant Count (Experimental Statistics)
-
The Claimant Count is the number of people claiming benefit principally for the reason of being unemployed. This is measured by combining the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) and National Insurance credits with the number of people receiving Universal Credit principally for the reason of being unemployed. Claimants 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 measure of the number of people receiving Universal Credit principally for the reason of being unemployed is still being developed by the Department for Work and Pensions. Consequently this component of the total Claimant Count does not yet correctly reflect the target population of unemployed claimants and is subject to revisions. For this reason the Claimant Count is currently designated as Experimental Statistics.
The Claimant Count is mostly derived from DWP administrative systems. For various reasons, e.g. a claimant's National Insurance number is not known, a small number of claims have to be dealt with manually. These clerical claims do not have as much detail as the computerised claims and therefore, whilst part of the claimant count by sex table, cannot be included the age breakdown.
- Rates by age
Unemployment benefits normally only apply to people aged 18 years and over. They can only be claimed by 16 and 17 year olds in exceptional circumstances. Consequently the counts for this age group are typically very low.
Labour Demand
Labour demand includes jobs available within the area.
- Jobs Density
-
The level of jobs per resident aged 16-64. For example, a job density of 1.0 would mean that there is one job for every resident aged 16-64.
The total number of jobs is a workplace-based measure and comprises employee jobs, self-employed, government-supported trainees and HM Forces. The number of residents aged 16-64 figures used to calculate jobs densities are based on the relevant mid-year population estimates.
- Employee Jobs
-
The number of jobs held by employees. Employee jobs excludes self-employed, government-supported trainees and HM Forces, so this count will be smaller than the total jobs figure shown in the Jobs density table. The information comes from the Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES) - an employer survey conducted in September of each year. The BRES records a job at the location of an employee's workplace (rather than at the location of the business's main office).
- Full-time and part-time:
- In the BRES, part-time employees are those working for 30 or fewer hours per week.
- Note
- All figures exclude farm-based agriculture
UK Business Counts
The data contained in the table are compiled from an extract taken from the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) recording the position of units as at March of the reference year. The IDBR contains information on VAT traders and PAYE employers in a statistical register which provides the basis for the Office for National Statistics to conduct surveys of businesses.
The table presents analysis of businesses at both Enterprise and Local Unit level. An Enterprise is the smallest combination of legal units (generally based on VAT and/or PAYE records) which has a certain degree of autonomy within an Enterprise Group. An individual site (for example a factory or shop) in an enterprise is called a local unit.
The employment information on the IDBR is drawn mainly from the Business Register Employment Survey (BRES). Because this is based on a sample of enterprises, estimates from previous returns and from other ONS surveys have also been used. For the smallest units, either PAYE jobs or employment imputed from VAT turnover is used.
Estimates in the table are rounded to prevent disclosure.
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Source: Office for National Statistics
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