London has a relatively young workforce, with 46 per cent under the age of 35 compared with 39 per cent nationally. This reflects the young age profile of its population.
Levels of economic activity in London vary greatly between ethnic groups. Eighty per cent of working-age White people were in the labour force in spring 2002, while rates for the Pakistani and Bangladeshi groups were much lower, at 54 and 47 per cent respectively, mainly due to low rates of female participation.
The financial and business services sector has increased rapidly in London over the past decade and now provides a third of all employee jobs. In contrast, numbers of jobs in manufacturing have continued to decline.
Londoners are more likely to be self-employed than people in the UK as a whole. In spring 2002, 13 per cent of the London labour force were self-employed compared with a UK average of 11 per cent.
The London unemployment rate (6.9 per cent in spring 2002) is higher than the national average. Areas of highest unemployment are concentrated in the East End of Inner London, with Tower Hamlets and Hackney each having rates of over 12 per cent.
These parts of Inner London also have low employment rates. In Hackney, Haringey, Newham and Tower Hamlets less than 60 per cent of the working-age population were in employment in 2001.
London salaries are significantly higher than the UK average. Non-manual male employees working in London earned, on average, more than £800 a week in 2002, a third more than the UK as a whole.
Source: Office for National Statistics (Labour Force Survey, Annual Business Inquiry and New Earnings Survey).
Notes: All economically active people aged 16 and over, not seasonally adjusted. Data have been adjusted to reflect the 2001 Census population data. Percentage of the household population who are in the labour force at Spring each year. Females aged 50-59, males aged 50-64; Females aged 60 or over, males aged 65 or over.
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