Labour Market Profile - Shetland Islands

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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.

Resident Population

  Shetland Islands
(numbers)
Scotland
(numbers)
Great Britain
(numbers)
All people 22,900 5,418,400 65,078,900
Males 11,500 2,630,200 31,833,600
Females 11,400 2,788,200 33,245,300
Source: ONS Population estimates - local authority based by five year age band
  Shetland Islands
(numbers)
Shetland Islands
(%)
Scotland
(%)
Great Britain
(%)
All people aged 16-64 13,700 59.8 63.5 62.9
Males aged 16-64 7,000 60.9 63.9 63.3
Females aged 16-64 6,800 59.6 63.1 62.6
Source: ONS Population estimates - local authority based by five year age band
Notes:   % is a proportion of total population

Labour Supply

  Shetland Islands
(numbers)
Shetland Islands
(%)
Scotland
(%)
Great Britain
(%)
All people
Economically active† 13,100 83.1 77.3 78.4
In employment† 13,100 83.1 74.5 75.5
Employees† 12,800 83.1 66.1 66.1
Self employed† ! ! 8.2 9.2
Unemployed (model-based)§ 400 2.8 3.5 3.7
Males
Economically active† 6,600 # 79.7 82.2
In employment† 6,600 # 76.4 78.8
Employees† 6,300 # 65.8 66.8
Self employed† ! ! 10.2 11.8
Unemployed§ ! ! 4.0 4.0
Females
Economically active† 6,500 81.1 75.0 74.7
In employment† 6,500 81.1 72.8 72.1
Employees† 6,500 81.1 66.4 65.4
Self employed† ! ! 6.2 6.6
Unemployed§ ! ! 2.9 3.4
Source: ONS annual population survey
#   Sample size too small for reliable estimate (see definitions)
!   Estimate is not available since sample size is disclosive (see definitions)
†   -   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
  Shetland Islands
(level)
Shetland Islands
(%)
Scotland
(%)
Great Britain
(%)
All people
Total # # 22.7 21.6
Student ! ! 24.6 26.8
looking after family/home ! ! 16.1 18.9
temporary sick ! ! 2.8 2.0
long-term sick ! ! 32.0 28.1
discouraged ! ! 0.5 0.4
retired # # 14.5 12.9
other ! ! 9.5 11.0
 
wants a job ! ! 17.3 17.8
does not want a job # # 82.7 82.2
Source: ONS annual population survey
#   Sample size too small for reliable estimate (see definitions)
!   Estimate is not available since sample size is disclosive (see definitions)
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
  Shetland Islands
Scotland
Great Britain
Number of Workless Households # 320,100 2,858,400
Percentage of Households that are Workless # 17.8 13.9
Number of children in Workless Households ! 88,400 1,270,500
Percentage of children who are in Households that are Workless ! 10.2 10.3
Source: ONS annual population survey - households by combined economic activity status
#   Sample size too small for reliable estimate (see definitions)
!   Estimate is not available since sample size is disclosive (see definitions)
Notes:   Only includes those households that have at least one person aged 16 to 64.
  Children refers to all children aged under 16.
  Shetland Islands
(numbers)
Shetland Islands
(%)
Scotland
(%)
Great Britain
(%)
Soc 2020 major group 1-3 4,500 34.2 50.0 52.9
1 Managers, directors and senior officials ! ! 8.3 11.0
2 Professional occupations # # 26.0 26.6
3 Associate professional occupations # # 15.5 15.3
Soc 2020 major group 4-5 # # 18.9 18.2
4 Administrative & secretarial occupations # # 9.5 9.4
5 Skilled trades occupations ! ! 9.3 8.7
Soc 2020 major group 6-7 # # 15.8 14.6
6 Caring, leisure and Other Service occupations # # 9.4 8.4
7 Sales and customer service occs ! ! 6.3 6.2
Soc 2020 major group 8-9 # # 15.3 14.3
8 Process plant & machine operatives # # 5.4 5.4
9 Elementary occupations # # 9.8 8.9
Source: ONS annual population survey
#   Sample size too small for reliable estimate (see definitions)
!   Estimate is not available since sample size is disclosive (see definitions)
-   The sample size is too small to allow data to be produced (see definitions)
Notes:   Numbers and % are for those of 16+
  % is a proportion of all persons in employment
  Shetland Islands
(level)
Shetland Islands
(%)
Scotland
(%)
Great Britain
(%)
RQF4 and above 5,500 39.1 55.1 47.3
RQF3 and above 10,100 71.3 73.7 67.8
RQF2 and above 13,300 93.7 87.1 86.5
RQF1 and above 13,300 93.7 87.9 89.0
Other qualifications ! ! 3.9 4.6
No qualifications ! ! 8.2 6.5
Source: ONS annual population survey
!   Estimate is not available since sample size is disclosive (see definitions)
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
  Shetland Islands
(pounds)
Scotland
(pounds)
Great Britain
(pounds)
Gross weekly pay
Full-time workers 893.3 702.4 682.6
Male full-time workers 879.3 725.7 728.3
Female full-time workers 882.7 672.0 628.8
Hourly pay - excluding overtime
Full-time workers 21.52 18.09 17.49
Male full-time workers 21.36 18.17 18.15
Female full-time workers 21.55 18.00 16.64
Source: ONS annual survey of hours and earnings - resident analysis
Notes:   Median earnings in pounds for employees living in the area.

Out-Of-Work Benefits

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.

  Shetland Islands
(numbers)
Shetland Islands
(%)
Scotland
(%)
Great Britain
(%)
All people 215 1.5 3.2 4.3
Males 110 1.5 3.7 4.7
Females 105 1.5 2.8 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
  Shetland Islands
(level)
Shetland Islands
(%)
Scotland
(%)
Great Britain
(%)
Aged 16+ 215 1.5 3.2 4.3
Aged 16 to 17 5 1.0 0.6 0.2
Aged 18 to 24 35 2.2 4.3 5.3
Aged 18 to 21 25 2.9 4.7 5.6
Aged 25 to 49 115 1.7 3.8 4.9
Aged 50+ 60 1.2 2.3 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
  Shetland Islands
(numbers)
Shetland Islands
(%)
Scotland
(%)
Great Britain
(%)
Total claimants 1,100 7.5 13.0 11.0
By statistical group
Job seekers 60 0.4 1.4 1.1
ESA and incapacity benefits 690 4.7 7.8 6.1
Lone parents 60 0.4 0.9 1.0
Carers 120 0.8 1.7 1.7
Others on income related benefits 10 0.1 0.2 0.2
Disabled 130 0.9 0.9 0.8
Bereaved 30 0.2 0.2 0.2
Main out-of-work benefits† 820 5.6 10.2 8.4
Source: DWP benefit claimants - working age client group
†   Main out-of-work benefits includes the groups: job seekers, ESA and incapacity benefits, lone parents and others on income related benefits. See the Definitions and Explanations below for details
Notes:   % is a proportion of resident population of area aged 16-64
  Figures in this table do not yet include claimants of Universal Credit

Labour Demand

  Shetland Islands
(jobs)
Shetland Islands
(density)
Scotland
(density)
Great Britain
(density)
Jobs density 15,000 1.08 0.81 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
  Shetland Islands
(employee jobs)
Shetland Islands
(%)
Scotland
(%)
Great Britain
(%)
Total employee jobs 13,000 - - -
Full-time 8,000 61.5 67.3 68.8
Part-time 5,000 38.5 32.7 31.2
Employee jobs by industry
B : Mining and quarrying 75 0.6 1.0 0.2
C : Manufacturing 900 6.9 6.9 7.6
D : Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply 125 1.0 0.8 0.4
E : Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities 100 0.8 0.7 0.7
F : Construction 1,250 9.6 5.7 4.9
G : Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles 1,500 11.5 12.9 14.0
H : Transportation and storage 900 6.9 4.1 5.0
I : Accommodation and food service activities 800 6.2 8.4 8.0
J : Information and communication 200 1.5 3.2 4.6
K : Financial and insurance activities 35 0.3 3.3 3.3
L : Real estate activities 75 0.6 1.3 1.9
M : Professional, scientific and technical activities 500 3.8 7.4 9.1
N : Administrative and support service activities 500 3.8 8.1 9.0
O : Public administration and defence; compulsory social security 900 6.9 6.5 4.7
P : Education 1,250 9.6 8.8 8.6
Q : Human health and social work activities 2,000 15.4 15.7 13.5
R : Arts, entertainment and recreation 450 3.5 3.0 2.4
S : Other service activities 500 3.8 1.6 2.0
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
  Shetland Islands
(pounds)
Scotland
(pounds)
Great Britain
(pounds)
Gross weekly pay
Full-time workers 859.2 702.8 682.6
Male full-time workers # 727.9 728.3
Female full-time workers 854.9 670.8 629.1
Hourly pay - excluding overtime
Full-time workers 21.36 18.10 17.49
Male full-time workers 20.62 18.24 18.14
Female full-time workers 21.43 17.93 16.65
Source: ONS annual survey of hours and earnings - workplace analysis
Notes:   Median earnings in pounds for employees working in the area.

Businesses

  Shetland Islands
(numbers)
Shetland Islands
(%)
Scotland
(numbers)
Scotland
(%)
Enterprises
Micro (0 to 9) 1,415 89.8 149,665 87.3
Small (10 to 49) 145 9.2 18,170 10.6
Medium (50 to 249) 10 0.6 2,820 1.6
Large (250+) 0 0.0 700 0.4
Total 1,575 - 171,350 -
Local Units
Micro (0 to 9) 1,615 83.9 174,205 80.8
Small (10 to 49) 265 13.8 33,710 15.6
Medium (50 to 249) 40 2.1 6,740 3.1
Large (250+) 5 0.3 1,055 0.5
Total 1,925 - 215,710 -
Source: Inter Departmental Business Register (ONS)

Note:   % is as a proportion of total (enterprises or local units)

Definitions and Explanations

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.
Model-based unemployed

As unemployed form a small percentage of the population, the APS unemployed estimates within local authorities are based on very small samples so for many areas would be unreliable. To overcome this ONS has developed a statistical model that provides better estimates of total unemployed for unitary authorities and local authority districts (unemployment estimates for counties are direct survey estimates). Model-based estimates are not produced for male or female unemployed.

The model-based estimate improves on the APS estimate by borrowing strength from the Claimant Count to produce an estimate that is more precise (i.e. has a smaller confidence interval). The number of people measured by the Claimant Count is not itself a measure of unemployment but is strongly correlated with unemployment, and, as it is an administrative count, is known without sampling error. The gain in precision is greatest for areas with smaller sample sizes.

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 2010. Descriptions of the job titles included in each code are available in the SOC manuals.
Qualifications

Qualifications data are only available from the APS for calendar year periods, for example, Jan to Dec 2022. From Jan to Dec 2022, qualifications are measured using the Registered Qualifications Framework (RQFs). Under RQFs, Trade Apprenticeships are accurately classified to the relevant levels. For Jan to Dec 2021 and prior, qualifications were measured using the National Vocational Qualifications framework (NVQs). The trade apprenticeships were split 50/50 between NVQ levels 2 and 3.

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 RQF/NVQ level are available in the full Annual Population Survey data set (Query data).

No qualifications
No formal qualifications held.
Other qualifications
includes foreign qualifications and some professional qualifications.
RQF/NVQ 1 equivalent
e.g. fewer than 5 GCSEs at grades A-C, foundation GNVQ, NVQ 1, intermediate 1 national qualification (Scotland) or equivalent.
RQF/NVQ 2 equivalent
e.g. 5 or more GCSEs at grades A-C, intermediate GNVQ, NVQ 2, intermediate 2 national qualification (Scotland) or equivalent.
RQF/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.
RQF/NVQ 4 equivalent and above
e.g. HND, Degree and Higher Degree level qualifications or equivalent.
Earnings by Residence

The figures show the median earnings in pounds for employees living in the area who are on adults rates of pay and whose pay was not affected by absence. Figures for earnings come from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE). The ASHE is based on a 1 per cent sample of employees, information on whose earnings and hours is obtained from employers. The survey does not cover self-employed. Information relates to a pay period in April.

The earnings information collected relates to gross pay before tax, national insurance or other deductions, and excludes payments in kind. It is restricted to earnings relating to the survey pay period and so excludes payments of arrears from another period made during the survey period; any payments due as a result of a pay settlement but not yet paid at the time of the survey will also be excluded.

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.

DWP Working-Age Client Group

From August 2017 DWP discontinued this dataset when they changed the way they publish their benefit statistics. The last period of data is the November 2016 figures published in May 2017.

The number of working-age people who are claiming one or more main DWP benefits. The main benefits are: bereavement benefit, carer's allowance, disability living allowance, ESA and incapacity benefit, severe disablement allowance, income support, jobseeker's allowance, and widow's benefit. The age at which women reach State Pension age is gradually increasing from 60 to 65 between April 2010 and April 2020. Throughout this period, only women below State Pension age are counted as working age benefit claimants."

The total count is broken down by statistical groups. These categorise each person according to the main reason why they are claiming benefit. Each client is classified to a single group.

Benefits are arranged hierarchically and claimants are assigned to a group according to the top most benefit they receive. Thus a person who is a lone parent and receives Incapacity Benefit would be classified as incapacity benefits. Consequently, the group lone parent will not contain all lone parents as some will be included in the incapacity benefits group and Job seekers groups.

Main out-of-work benefits consists of the groups: job seekers, ESA and incapacity benefits, lone parents and others on income related benefits.

These groups have been chosen to best represent a count of all those benefit recipients who cannot be in full-time employment as part of their condition of entitlement. Those claiming solely Bereavement Benefits or Disability Living Allowance (DLA) are not included as these are not out-of-work or income based benefits. DLA is paid to those needing help with personal care. These people can, and some will, be in full-time employment. If DLA claimants are also in receipt of JSA, IS, ESA or Incapacity Benefits in addition to DLA they will be counted under the relevant statistical group. In addition, we exclude those claiming solely carer's benefits or claiming carer's benefits alongside income support, as DWP does not pursue active labour market policies for this group. Carers benefits are paid to those with full time caring responsibilities. The group entitled to Carer's benefits alongside Income Support (IS) includes around 86,000 claimants and has been stable over time.

This Nomis series is different to that published in the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Labour Market Bulletin. The Nomis series uses DWP Jobseeker's Allowance numbers, whilst the Labour Market Bulletin uses the Claimant Count, using different methods, coverage and reference periods

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
Earnings by Place of Work

The figures show the median earnings in pounds for employees working in the area who are on adults rates of pay and whose pay was not affected by absence. Figures for earnings come from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE). The ASHE is based on a 1 per cent sample of employees, information on whose earnings and hours is obtained from employers. The survey does not cover self-employed. In 2004 information related to the pay period which included 21 April.

The earnings information collected relates to gross pay before tax, national insurance or other deductions, and excludes payments in kind. It is restricted to earnings relating to the survey pay period and so excludes payments of arrears from another period made during the survey period; any payments due as a result of a pay settlement but not yet paid at the time of the survey will also be excluded.

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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