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Area Profile for the City of Leicester: Employment



Work Status

  Leicester Percent England & Wales
Economically active: Employees: Part-time 20796 10.45% 11.78%
Economically active: Employees: Full-time 74357 37.38% 40.55%
Economically active: Self - employed 10253 5.15% 8.28%
Economically active: Unemployed 9704 4.88% 3.35%
Economically active: Full-time student 7765 3.90% 2.57%
Economically inactive: Retired 21565 10.84% 13.61%
Economically inactive: Student 17450 8.77% 4.70%
Economically inactive: Looking after home/family 14916 7.50% 6.51%
Economically inactive: Permanently sick/disabled 12829 6.45% 5.52%
Economically inactive: Other 9287 4.67% 3.12%


In the Census the work force is defined as those who are 'economically active'. This is taken as the sum of the employed and the unemployed. Those outside this category are described as 'inactive'.

Age also enters the equation. Traditionally this ranged from 16 to the statutory retirement age (60 for women and 65 for men). In the 2001 Census, the upper limit was set at 74 to make it compatible with the International Labour Organisation.

The data shows that Leicester has smaller than average proportions of its workforce working full-time, part-time or in a self-employed capacity. In addition, it has a higher percentage who are unemployed.

Among the inactive group, there are higher than average proportions of students, which is to be expected given the two large universities in the city. There is a smaller than average number of retired people.

Occupational Status

  Leicester Percent England & Wales
Managers and senior officials 10816 9.69% 15.11%
Professional occupations 11054 9.91% 11.17%
Associate professional and technical occupations 12036 10.79% 13.78%
Administrative and secretarial occupations 13099 11.74% 13.33%
Skilled trades occupations 11838 10.61% 11.64%
Personal service occupations 7552 6.77% 6.91%
Sales and customer service occupations 9763 8.75% 7.67%
Process, plant and machine operatives 17344 15.54% 8.51%
Elementary occupations 18078 16.20% 11.87%


The occupational structure of those living in the city is heavily biased towards manual labour. There are only two categories where the city has a higher proportion than England & Wales, and this is for plant and machine operatives and elementary occupations.

The biggest deficit in comparison to the national average is in managers and senior officials. Surprisingly, perhaps, the difference for professional occupations is only just over 1%.

Employment Sector

  Leicester Percent England & Wales
Agriculture, hunting, forestry 386 0.35% 1.50%
Fishing 0 0.00% 0.02%
Mining & quarrying 109 0.10% 0.25%
Manufacturing 26107 23.40% 14.96%
Electricity, gas and water supply 1292 1.16% 0.73%
Construction 5481 4.91% 6.77%
Wholesale & retail trade, repair of motor vehicles 20894 18.73% 16.83%
Hotels and catering 5208 4.67% 4.76%
Transport storage and communication 6833 6.12% 7.01%
Financial intermediation 3519 3.15% 4.73%
Real estate, renting and business activities 10132 9.08% 12.97%
Public administration and defence 4543 4.07% 5.72%
Education 9305 8.34% 7.76%
Health and social work 12999 11.65% 10.81%
Other 4771 4.28% 5.18%


Manufacturing has retained its position as the largest source of employment in the city, absorbing 23.4% of the workforce compared with 14.96% for England and Wales.

The most notable deficit in comparision to the national average is within the financial services sector dealing with business activities and real estate.

Source: 2001 Census, Key Statistics © Crown Copyright
Leicester City Council Area Profile Version 1.1
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