Human Resources
2.5m work in health & social care in England & Wales
Health and care worker in largest occupational groups: by sex, April 2001, England & Wales
In 2001, 2.5 million people worked in the health and social care industry (excluding veterinary activities) in England and Wales. This included both the public and private sectors.
This analysis concentrates on some selected occupational groups in the health and social care industry: managers, health professionals, researchers, social and care workers, nurses and midwives, therapists, other health professionals and support staff. In total there were 1.5 million people employed in these occupations.
The largest single occupational groups were: care assistants and home carers (450,000), nurses (392,000), medical practitioners (115,000) and nursing auxiliaries and assistants (109,000). Other key occupations were dental practitioners (21,000) and midwives (25,000).
For every 10,000 people in England and Wales, there were 86 care assistants and home carers, 75 nurses, 22 medical practitioners, 5 midwives and 4 dental practitioners.
Overall, women made up 81 per cent of the workforce in the selected occupations. This varied greatly between occupations. In some occupations more than nine in ten employees were women - 99 per cent of midwives, medical secretaries and dental nurses, 97 per cent of speech and language therapists, 93 per cent of occupational therapists and 92 per cent of pharmaceutical dispensers. The only occupation where men comprised more than nine in ten of the employees was hospital porters (94 per cent).
A much larger proportion of men than women worked full time. The proportions working full time varied with occupation, from 59 per cent of male and 35 per cent of female therapists, to 99 per cent of male and 90 per cent of female paramedics.
A considerable number of people with professional health qualifications were not working. Around 7,500 doctors, 1,700 dentists, 57,300 nurses and 4,200 midwives - all of working age (16 to 64) and qualified - were unemployed or economically inactive.
Source: Census, April 2001, Office for National Statistics for workforce and qualifications data Notes: The Standard Industrial Classifications used were health and social work (N) excluding veterinary activities (852). The Standard Occupational Classifications used were managers (1181-5), health professionals (2211-5), researchers (2321-2, 2329), social and care workers (2442, 6114-5), nurses and midwives (3211-2), therapists (3221-3, 3229), other health professionals (3213-8, 3567-8), support staff (4211, 6111-3, 9221). For individual questions see the link to the 2001 Census questionaire on the right-hand side.
printer-friendly
Focus on Health home