Unemployment rates for people of working age (Q2 seasonally adjusted)
The unemployment rate in London (7.7 per cent in quarter two of 2006) is higher than the national average (5.5 per cent). Areas of highest unemployment are concentrated in the East End of Inner London, with Tower Hamlets and Hackney each having rates of over 10 per cent in 2005/06.
These parts of Inner London also have low employment rates. In Hackney, Newham and Tower Hamlets less than 60 per cent of the working-age population were in employment in 2005/06.
Londoners earn significantly more than the UK average. Half of male full-time employees living in London earned more than £579 a week in April 2006. In the UK as a whole half earned over £487, which was 19 per cent less.
For women, half of female full-time employees living in London earned more than £499 a week. In the UK as a whole half earned £387, which was 29 per cent less.
Earnings vary widely between the residents of different areas of London. In seven boroughs, 10 per cent of male full-time employees earned less than £280 per week.
Levels of economic activity in London vary greatly between ethnic groups. While 79 per cent of working-age White people were in the labour force in 2005, for the Pakistani and Bangladeshi group the rate was 50 per cent.
This is mainly due to low rates of female participation – 28 per cent for Pakistani/Bangladeshi women compared with 73 per cent for both White women and Black Caribbean women.
London has a relatively young labour force, with 41 per cent aged under 35 compared with 36 per cent nationally. This reflects the young age profile of its population.
Londoners are more likely to be self-employed than people in the UK as a whole. In the second quarter of 2006, 16 per cent of working people in London were self-employed compared with a UK average of 12 per cent.
Men in London are more likely to work part-time than their counterparts in other parts of the country (10 per cent compared with 9.4 per cent for the UK). London women are more likely to work full-time than women in the UK as a whole (70 per cent compared with 59 per cent).
Over 90 per cent of employee jobs in London in 2004 were in the service sector, although Barking and Dagenham still has 20 per cent of jobs in manufacturing.
Sources: Labour Force Survey, Annual Population Survey, Annual Business Inquiry, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics (ONS)
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