©NERIP 2005 What is the Economic Status of the Working Age Population? Jon Carling North East Regional Information Partnership

©NERIP 2005 Introduction  The purpose of this presentation is to contrast the definitions of economic engagement and the various data sources that provide insight into the policy theme of worklessness.  In particular the definitions used by the Social Exclusion Unit in recent reports and the Office for National Statistics through data collection in the Labour Force Survey are mapped against each other.  Additional data sources available for informing the theme include the stream of “benefits” data provided the administration systems of The Department for Work and Pensions.  Having mapped the definitions, comparative regional and and national data are presented to indicate the degree of disparity evident within the region.  The presentation concludes with a summary of the findings from the definitions and data.

Working Age population (Male 16-64, Female 16-59) Labour Force Survey Definitions Social Exclusion Unit Definitions The starting point is to consider the entire population who are of “working age” i.e. all males aged between 16 and 64 and all females between 16 and 59.

Working Age population (Male 16-64, Female 16-59) Economically ActiveEconomically Inactive Labour Force Survey Definitions Social Exclusion Unit Definitions The Labour Force Survey classifies each person as being either “Economically Active” or “Economically Inactive”

Working Age population (Male 16-64, Female 16-59) Economically ActiveEconomically Inactive Labour Force Survey Definitions Social Exclusion Unit Definitions In the Labour Force Survey, Economically Active includes those on Government Schemes as well as those who are registered Unemployed. Employees Self Employed Unemployed Government Schemes

Working Age population (Male 16-64, Female 16-59) Economically ActiveEconomically Inactive Would not Like to Work Labour Force Survey Definitions Wants a job Social Exclusion Unit Definitions The Economically Inactive are divided into those who want a job and those who do not want to work – a person’s category being determined by how they answer a survey question. Employees Self Employed Unemployed Government Schemes

Working Age population (Male 16-64, Female 16-59) Economically ActiveEconomically Inactive Not Seeking WorkSeeking Work Would not Like to Work Labour Force Survey Definitions Wants a job Social Exclusion Unit Definitions The Economically Inactive can also be divided into those seeking work and those not seeking work. Those seeking work are a subset of those who want a job, since some of those who want a job may not be actively seeking work. This divides the Economically Inactive into 3 separate groups *Wants a Job and Seeking Work *Wants a Job and Not Seeking Work *Doesn’t Want a Job (and Not Seeking Work) Employees Self Employed Unemployed Government Schemes

Working Age population (Male 16-64, Female 16-59) Economically ActiveEconomically Inactive Employees Self Employed Unemployed Government Schemes Not Seeking WorkSeeking Work Discouraged workers Long term sick/disabled Not looking/no reason/other Temporary sick/injured Looking after family/home Student Would not Like to Work Long term sick/disabled No reason/other Temporary sick/injured Looking after family/home Student Labour Force Survey Definitions Wants a job Social Exclusion Unit Definitions Retired Not want/need job Long term sick/disabled Not looking/no reason/other Temporary sick/injured Looking after family/home Student Each of these three groups of the Economically Inactive are further subdivided by “reason”– note that some of the reasons (e.g. being a Student) can appear in more than one group.

Working Age population (Male 16-64, Female 16-59) Economically ActiveEconomically Inactive Employees Self Employed Unemployed Government Schemes Not Seeking WorkSeeking Work Discouraged workers Long term sick/disabled Not looking/no reason/other Temporary sick/injured Looking after family/home Student Would not Like to Work Long term sick/disabled No reason/other Temporary sick/injured Looking after family/home Student Labour Force Survey Definitions Wants a job Social Exclusion Unit Definitions Retired Not want/need job Long term sick/disabled Not looking/no reason/other Temporary sick/injured Looking after family/home Student The Labour Force Survey definition of “Economically Inactive” is, therefore, a complex mix of attitude and circumstance.

Working Age population (Male 16-64, Female 16-59) Economically ActiveEconomically Inactive Employees Self Employed Unemployed Government Schemes Not Seeking WorkSeeking Work Discouraged workers Long term sick/disabled Not looking/no reason/other Temporary sick/injured Looking after family/home Student Would not Like to Work Long term sick/disabled No reason/other Temporary sick/injured Looking after family/home Student Seeking Work Labour Force Survey Definitions Wants a job Social Exclusion Unit Definitions Retired Not want/need job Long term sick/disabled Not looking/no reason/other Temporary sick/injured Looking after family/home Student If we implicitly assume that those on Government Schemes and the Unemployed are also Seeking Work…

Working Age population (Male 16-64, Female 16-59) Economically ActiveEconomically Inactive Employees Self Employed Unemployed Government Schemes Not Seeking WorkSeeking Work Discouraged workers Long term sick/disabled Not looking/no reason/other Temporary sick/injured Looking after family/home Student Would not Like to Work Long term sick/disabled No reason/other Temporary sick/injured Looking after family/home Student Seeking Work Labour Force Survey Definitions “Unemployed”“Economic Inactivity” Wants a job Social Exclusion Unit Definitions Retired Not want/need job Long term sick/disabled Not looking/no reason/other Temporary sick/injured Looking after family/home Student If we implicitly assume that those on Government Schemes and the Unemployed are also Seeking Work… …then we can start to map onto the definitions of the Social Exclusion Unit

Working Age population (Male 16-64, Female 16-59) Economically ActiveEconomically Inactive Employees Self Employed Unemployed Government Schemes Not Seeking WorkSeeking Work Discouraged workers Long term sick/disabled Not looking/no reason/other Temporary sick/injured Looking after family/home Student Would not Like to Work Long term sick/disabled No reason/other Temporary sick/injured Looking after family/home Student Seeking Work Labour Force Survey Definitions “Unemployed”“Economic Inactivity” Worklessness Wants a job Social Exclusion Unit Definitions Retired Not want/need job Long term sick/disabled Not looking/no reason/other Temporary sick/injured Looking after family/home Student The workless are simply those without work – everyone except those who are employed or self-employed. But as the chart shows, there are a whole variety of reasons why a person can be workless

Working Age population (Male 16-64, Female 16-59) Economically ActiveEconomically Inactive Employees Self Employed Unemployed Government Schemes Not Seeking WorkSeeking Work Discouraged workers Long term sick/disabled Not looking/no reason/other Temporary sick/injured Looking after family/home Student Would not Like to Work Long term sick/disabled No reason/other Temporary sick/injured Looking after family/home Student Seeking Work Labour Force Survey Definitions “Unemployed”“Economic Inactivity” Worklessness Wants a job Social Exclusion Unit Definitions Retired Not want/need job Long term sick/disabled Not looking/no reason/other Temporary sick/injured Looking after family/home Student Having explained the terminology and definitions we can now add some numbers. These numbers are: *Estimates based on a survey *As a result we cannot readily identify and allocate workless individuals to a “reason” *Percentages are expressed as the percentage of the working age population

Long term sick/disabled No reason/other Temporary sick/injured Looking after family/home Student Working Age population (Male 16-64, Female 16-59) Economically ActiveEconomically Inactive Employees Self Employed Unemployed Government Schemes Not Seeking WorkSeeking Work Discouraged workers Long term sick/disabled Not looking/no reason/other Temporary sick/injured Looking after family/home Student Would not Like to Work Seeking Work Labour Force Survey Definitions “Unemployed”“Economic Inactivity” Worklessness Wants a job Social Exclusion Unit Definitions Retired Not want/need job Long term sick/disabled Not looking/no reason/other Temporary sick/injured Looking after family/home Student 1,526,000 1,122,000 (74%)404,000 (26%) 952,000 (62%) 83,000 (6%) 104,000 (7%)300,000 (20%) 391,000 (25%)13,000 (1%) 91,000 (6%) 89,000 (6%)391,000 (25%) 480,000 (32%) Local Labour Force Survey March 2003 to February 2004 Crown Copyright All rates are of Total Working Age Population 76,000 (5%)

©NERIP 2005 Conclusions  The Economic Status of individuals is a complex area to interpret, often related to an individual’s attitude and circumstance. Numerous overlapping terms are used to describe it, with a variety of different meanings to the various audiences.  The North East has a greater rate of “worklessness” than the national average by over 25%. The challenge to gain parity with the UK means that over 90,000 individuals need to gain work.  1:8 in the region are in receipt of “Incapacity Benefits”, while nationally it is 1:14. But the region’s population has significantly “poorer” health than many other regions, reflected in the worst rates in the UK for respiratory, circulatory diseases and life expectancy!

©NERIP 2005 What is the Economic Status of the Working Age Population? Jon Carling North East Regional Information Partnership