Resident Population

Total population (2024)

	Norfolk (level)	East (level)	Great Britain (level)
All people	940,359	6,576,306	67,353,582
Males	460,975	3,224,632	32,980,978
Females	479,384	3,351,674	34,372,604
Source: Population estimates - local authority based by single year of age

Population aged 16-64 (2024)

	Norfolk (level)	Norfolk (%)	East (%)	Great Britain (%)
All people	554,074	58.9	61.3	62.8
Males	274,266	59.5	61.7	63.2
Females	279,808	58.4	60.8	62.5
Source: Population estimates - local authority based by single year of age Notes:   % is a proportion of total population

Labour Supply

Employment and unemployment (Oct 2024-Sep 2025)

	Norfolk (numbers)	Norfolk (%)	East (%)	Great Britain (%)
All people
Economically active†	468,300	81.6	81.8	79.0
In employment†	443,600	77.2	78.6	75.6
Employees†	368,900	66.1	68.5	65.8
Self employed†	68,300	10.2	9.7	9.5
Unemployed§	24,700	5.3	3.9	4.3
Males
Economically active†	244,600	85.1	85.6	82.4
In employment†	231,900	80.5	82.1	78.6
Employees†	186,800	67.4	69.3	66.1
Self employed†	42,500	12.1	12.3	12.2
Unemployed§	12,700	5.2	4.0	4.5
Females
Economically active†	223,700	78.1	78.1	75.7
In employment†	211,700	73.9	75.2	72.5
Employees†	182,000	64.7	67.7	65.4
Self employed†	25,800	8.2	7.2	6.8
Unemployed§	12,000	5.4	3.7	4.1
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 §   -   Due to small sample sizes involved in the calculation of the APS unemployment estimate, ONS recommends people use the model-based version, which makes use of both survey and administrative data.

Economic inactivity (Oct 2024-Sep 2025)

	Norfolk (level)	Norfolk (%)	East (%)	Great Britain (%)
All people
Total	98,000	18.4	18.2	21.0
Student	17,700	18.0	25.9	26.5
looking after family/home	16,000	16.4	19.0	18.2
temporary sick	#	#	1.6	2.2
long-term sick	30,800	31.4	24.2	27.8
discouraged	!	!	#	0.3
retired	16,900	17.2	15.5	13.0
other	14,700	15.0	13.6	11.9
wants a job	18,300	18.6	21.5	20.5
does not want a job	79,700	81.4	78.5	79.5
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

Workless Households (Jan-Dec 2023)

	Norfolk	East	Great Britain
Number of Workless Households	41,600	242,800	2,862,100
Percentage of Households that are Workless	14.4	12.1	13.9
Number of children in Workless Households	#	100,100	1,196,600
Percentage of children who are in Households that are Workless	#	8.0	9.8
Source: ONS annual population survey - households by combined economic activity status #   Sample size too small for reliable estimate (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.

Employment by occupation (Oct 2024-Sep 2025)

	Norfolk (numbers)	Norfolk (%)	East (%)	Great Britain (%)
Soc 2020 major group 1-3	202,000	46.2	53.4	53.5
1 Managers, directors and senior officials	47,200	10.6	12.0	11.4
2 Professional occupations	93,800	21.1	26.7	27.0
3 Associate professional occupations	61,100	13.8	14.4	15.0
Soc 2020 major group 4-5	87,500	20.0	18.8	17.6
4 Administrative & secretarial occupations	41,500	9.4	10.2	9.2
5 Skilled trades occupations	46,000	10.4	8.5	8.4
Soc 2020 major group 6-7	69,700	15.9	13.5	14.4
6 Caring, leisure and Other Service occupations	32,900	7.4	8.0	8.6
7 Sales and customer service occs	36,900	8.3	5.4	5.7
Soc 2020 major group 8-9	78,100	17.9	14.4	14.5
8 Process plant & machine operatives	25,800	5.8	5.9	5.5
9 Elementary occupations	52,300	11.8	8.4	8.9
Source: ONS annual population survey Notes:   Numbers and % are for those of 16+   % is a proportion of all persons in employment

Qualifications (Jan 2024-Dec 2024)

	Norfolk (level)	Norfolk (%)	East (%)	Great Britain (%)
RQF4 and above	195,400	37.6	43.7	47.2
RQF3 and above	315,600	60.8	65.2	67.6
RQF2 and above	449,900	86.6	88.4	86.5
RQF1 and above	465,000	89.5	90.9	88.9
Other qualifications	24,000	4.6	4.0	4.3
No qualifications	30,300	5.8	5.2	6.8
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

Earnings by place of residence (2025)

	Norfolk (pounds)	East (pounds)	Great Britain (pounds)
Gross weekly pay
Full-time workers	719.4	804.9	766.6
Male full-time workers	754.8	862.4	818.7
Female full-time workers	657.1	730.6	710.8
Hourly pay - excluding overtime
Full-time workers	17.81	20.46	19.74
Male full-time workers	18.10	21.36	20.39
Female full-time workers	17.29	19.57	18.94
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.

Claimant count by sex - not seasonally adjusted (December 2025)

	Norfolk (numbers)	Norfolk (%)	East (%)	Great Britain (%)
All people	16,510	3.0	3.2	3.8
Males	9,095	3.3	3.5	4.3
Females	7,415	2.6	2.9	3.3
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

Claimant count by age - not seasonally adjusted (December 2025)

	Norfolk (level)	Norfolk (%)	East (%)	Great Britain (%)
Aged 16+	16,510	3.0	3.2	3.8
Aged 16 to 17	45	0.2	0.2	0.2
Aged 18 to 24	3,725	5.4	5.4	5.6
Aged 18 to 21	2,370	6.0	6.1	6.1
Aged 25 to 49	8,850	3.3	3.4	4.2
Aged 50+	3,885	2.0	2.3	2.8
Source: ONS Claimant count by sex and age Note:   % is number of claimants as a proportion of resident population of the same age

Labour Demand

Jobs density (2023)

	Norfolk (jobs)	Norfolk (density)	East (density)	Great Britain (density)
Jobs density	449,000	0.81	0.83	0.86
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

Employee jobs (2024)

	Norfolk (employee jobs)	Norfolk (%)	East (%)	Great Britain (%)
Total employee jobs	371,000	-	-	-
Full-time	242,000	65.2	66.5	69.2
Part-time	129,000	34.8	33.5	30.8
Employee jobs by industry
B : Mining and quarrying	1,000	0.3	0.1	0.2
C : Manufacturing	34,000	9.2	7.2	7.3
D : Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply	700	0.2	0.3	0.4
E : Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities	2,500	0.7	0.7	0.7
F : Construction	22,000	5.9	6.5	5.0
G : Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	60,000	16.2	14.9	13.7
H : Transportation and storage	13,000	3.5	5.7	5.0
I : Accommodation and food service activities	34,000	9.2	7.0	7.8
J : Information and communication	6,000	1.6	3.2	4.5
K : Financial and insurance activities	12,000	3.2	1.8	3.4
L : Real estate activities	9,000	2.4	2.3	1.9
M : Professional, scientific and technical activities	21,000	5.7	8.7	9.3
N : Administrative and support service activities	26,000	7.0	11.7	8.6
O : Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	19,000	5.1	3.8	4.9
P : Education	33,000	8.9	9.1	8.6
Q : Human health and social work activities	60,000	16.2	12.7	14.2
R : Arts, entertainment and recreation	11,000	3.0	2.4	2.5
S : Other service activities	6,000	1.6	1.9	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

Earnings by place of work (2025)

	Norfolk (pounds)	East (pounds)	Great Britain (pounds)
Gross weekly pay
Full-time workers	709.2	766.6	766.6
Male full-time workers	747.3	816.3	818.6
Female full-time workers	651.6	699.0	710.6
Hourly pay - excluding overtime
Full-time workers	17.50	19.31	19.74
Male full-time workers	17.75	20.04	20.39
Female full-time workers	17.05	18.54	18.94
Source: ONS annual survey of hours and earnings - workplace analysis Notes:   Median earnings in pounds for employees working in the area.

Businesses

UK Business Counts (2025)

	Norfolk (numbers)	Norfolk (%)	East (numbers)	East (%)
Enterprises
Micro (0 to 9)	29,745	88.4	243,635	89.7
Small (10 to 49)	3,235	9.6	22,675	8.4
Medium (50 to 249)	580	1.7	4,175	1.5
Large (250+)	105	0.3	990	0.4
Total	33,665	-	271,475	-
Local Units
Micro (0 to 9)	33,120	83.1	264,920	85.3
Small (10 to 49)	5,550	13.9	36,920	11.9
Medium (50 to 249)	1,090	2.7	7,755	2.5
Large (250+)	115	0.3	1,035	0.3
Total	39,870	-	310,635	-
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

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

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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Source: Office for National Statistics

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