The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has released new jobs figures for 2021 as part of the Business Register & Employment Survey (BRES). This note presents analysis of the regional data. Figures are also available for local authorities and contact details are provided at the end of the note should further analysis be of interest.

Employment in Great Britain

The 2021 BRES data provide a more up to date picture of employment trends in Great Britain and the analysis presented here summarises the main findings, looking at recent trends in the labour market.

Employment Change 2020-21

Table 1 shows jobs change broken down by region for 2020 to 2021 and reflects the extent to which the labour market has recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic. The main points
to note are:

  • Total job numbers in Great Britain increased from around 30.5 million in 2020 to 31.4 million in 2021, a rise of 855,000 jobs or 2.8%.
  • All regions saw jobs increase between 2020 and 2021, with the North East experiencing the highest relative increase of 4.2% (45,000 additional jobs). This was followed by Scotland which saw jobs increase by 4% (102,000 additional jobs).
  • In absolute terms, London saw the largest rise in the number of jobs with an increase of 183,000 (this represents an increase of 3.5%). This was followed by the North West which saw a rise of 131,000 jobs (3.8%).

Looking at jobs change in Great Britain by sector between 2020 and 2021, the accommodation and food services sector saw the greatest relative increase with a 7.1% rise (156,000 additional jobs). The largest absolute increase between 2020 and 2021 was seen in the business, financial and professional services sector with 272,000 additional jobs (3.9% increase). The only sector that did not experience growth within the time period was the manufacturing sector which saw jobs fall by 0.7% (16,000 fewer jobs) between 2020 and 2021.

Table 1: Jobs Change by Region, 2020-21

Source: Business Register & Employment Survey Note: Figures may not sum due to rounding.

Employment Change 2015-21

Looking at labour market trends over a longer timeframe, between 2015 and 2021 employment in Great Britain increased from just over 29.8 million to around 31.4 million. This represents an increase of around 1.6 million jobs, equating to 0.9% growth per annum over the six-year timeframe. Table 2 shows jobs change broken down by region from 2015-21. The main points to note are:

  • In relative terms, the North West saw the highest jobs growth between 2015 and 2021, experiencing an annual increase of 1.4% (280,000 additional jobs in total), followed by London and the East which both saw an annual increase of 1.2% (366,000 and 208,000 additional jobs respectively).
  • In absolute terms, London saw the highest growth, with 366,000 new jobs between 2015 and 2021, followed by the North West with an increase of 280,000.
  • Wales saw the smallest increase in jobs over the time period with an increase of 13,000, equating to annual growth of 0.2% between 2015 and 2021. This was followed by the South East which saw jobs increase by 0.3% (79,000 additional jobs).
Table 2: Jobs Change by Region, 2015-21

Source: Business Register & Employment Survey Note: Figures may not sum due to rounding.

Employment Change by Sector, 2015-21

Table 3 shows jobs growth between 2015 and 2021 by broad sector in Great Britain. The main points to note are:

  • In relative terms, the transport and storage sector saw the highest annual increase in jobs between 2015 and 2021 at 2.6% (227,000 new jobs in total), followed by the information and communication sector and the construction sector at 2% growth per annum (155,000 and 177,000 additional jobs respectively). The transport and storage sector is generally used as a proxy for logistics, which is a sector that has benefitted from the long-term trend of increasing online retail sales, which has driven demand for warehousing space.
  • In absolute terms, the public administration, education, and health sector saw the largest growth of 498,000 jobs over the six years, equating to an annual growth rate of 1%.
  • At the opposite end of the spectrum, jobs in the wholesale and retail sector decreased by 0.5% per annum, translating to a loss of 150,000 jobs between 2015 and 2021. The manufacturing sector also declined by 0.5% per annum, a loss of 64,000 jobs and the arts, entertainment, recreation and other services sector fell with an annual decline of 0.2%, a loss of 15,000 jobs.
Table 3: Jobs Growth by Sector in Great Britain, 2015-21

Source: Business Register & Employment Survey Note: Figures may not sum due to rounding.

Summary

Despite the overall picture painted by the BRES data appearing positive and the unemployment rate of 3.5% for June to August 2022 being the lowest rate since December to February 1974, the labour market still faces significant challenges. The data does highlight jobs growth, however it should be noted that the 2021 estimates indicate that job numbers are now broadly back to where they were in 2019, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Economic inactivity is also on the rise and could explain why unemployment is so low. Between January to March 2020 and June to August 2022, just over 550,000 people have removed themselves from the labour market. This increase has been driven largely by those aged 50-64, with around 337,000 people in this age group becoming economically inactive. This is mainly due to health reasons, with people exiting the labour market because of long term sickness. Over the same timeframe, around 174,000 people aged 16-24 also became economically inactive, which is likely due to a larger number opting to become students.