- More than half (63.5%) of London’s population is in work or actively looking for work, while 33.8% are economically inactive.
- New research has analysed data from the Office for National Statistics 2021 Census to reveal how much of the population is economically active, and which industries they most commonly work in.
- ‘Human health and social work activities’ ranks as the most common industry to work in, accounting for 12.9% of London’s active workforce.
New findings reveal that Human health and social work is the most common industry for London residents to work in.
Income protection experts Eleos, have analysed data from the Office for National Statistics 2021 Census, to reveal the proportion of the population that are in work, and which are the most common industries to work in.
According to the data approximately 4,511,789 London residents are economically active (excluding full students), with 59.4% in employment and 4.1% looking for work. For those that are full-time students and also economically active, they make up just 2.7% of the population, with 139,130 of these in a job.
On the other hand, 2,400,296 (33.8%) are economically inactive, the most common reason for which is retirement. Those who are retired account for 12.9% of those who are economically inactive.
In contrast, only 7.2% are students who aren’t looking for work, while those looking after their family and home make-up 6%, followed closely by those long-term sick or disabled with just 3.6%.
Ranking top as the industry with the most workforce is ‘Human health and social work activities.’ A whopping 563,238 people are working in this industry, making this 12.9% of the working population of London.
Following closely in second is the Wholesale and Retail trade, including repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles sector, with 531,842 people within it. In third is Professional, Scientific, and Technical Activities with 456,965.
