• UK employment levels have been rising generally over the last three decades, increasing from 24.6 million in 1971 to 28.8 million in 2005.
• The employment rate for people of working age rose from 71 per cent in 1995 to 75 per cent in 2005. For men the rate rose from 76 per cent to 79 per cent and, for women, from 66 per cent to 70 per cent.
• Employment rates among parents have increased: in the ten-year period to spring 2005 the employment rate for couple mothers, couple fathers and lone parents increased by 6 percentage points, 4 percentage points and 14 percentage points respectively.
• 'Managers and senior officials' is the largest occupational group in the UK, with 15 per cent of people employed in this group. Twenty per cent of males are employed in skilled trades compared with only 2 per cent of females.
• The proportion of people in employment who are self-employed remained steady, at just under 13 per cent throughout 2005.
• Employment in the public sector rose by 95,000 in the year to June 2005 to stand at just under 6 million.
• The percentage of teleworkers has doubled between spring 1997 and spring 2005, from 4 per cent to 8 per cent of the total workforce.
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Economic & Labour Market Review (ELMR) – February 2009