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Economic activity status, disability and health

The participation in the labour market of people with disabilities or ill-health. Additional detail from the 2021 census.

Labour Market Population and health Newcastle North Tyneside South Tyneside Durham Gateshead Sunderland Northumberland Census 2021
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Working age disability in the North East

Key points:

In the year to March 2023, among the North East's working age (16-64) population:

  • There were about 341,700 with a disablity, included 316,200 with a core disability and an additional 25,500 with a work-limiting disability not defined as core
  • The total with a disability had increased by 7.4% since the year to March 2020 (the immediate pre-Covid period). The 23,400 net increase was made up of:
    • 18,000 economically inactive people (+12.0%)
    • 5,800 employed people (+3.8%)
    • and a decrease of 400 in unemployed people (-2.7%)
  • The total of 341,700 represented 28.0% of the North East's working age population, a higher percentage than for England excluding London (25.3%)
  • The latest North East percentage was 2.1 percentage points (pp) higher than three years earlier, the England excluding London equivalent was 2.9 pp higher
  • About 30.7% of North East females had a disability, compared to 25.2% of males. In England excluding London the percentages were 28.3% and 22.2%
  • The North East percentage was the third highest among the eight core city areas and, locally, the percentage was highest in South Tyneside.

Workers with a disability

Key points

In the year to March 2023, among North East working age (16-64) people with a core or work-limiting disability:

  • About 46.5% were on employment, a much lower rate than for England excluding London (56.3%). This compared to a North East rate of 80.0% for people without such a disability, which was much closer to the England excluding London equivalent (82.4%)
  • The North East rate for people with a disability was 1.6 pp below that in the pre-Covid period three years earlier. The rate for those without a disability had only decreased by 0.1 pp
  • The employment rate for males with a disability was 44.0% in the North East, and was 4.5 pp lower than three years earlier
  • The equivalent female employment rate (48.4%) was higher than the male rate and had increased over the same period (by 0.7 pp). Nationally, the male rate was higher than the female rate
  • The North East employment rate for people with a disability was the lowest among the eight core city areas and, locally, the rate was lowest in County Durham and South Tyneside and highest in Sunderland.

Non-workers with a disability

Key points:

In the year to March 2023, among North East working age (16-64) people with a disability:

  • Almost half (49.3%) were economically inactive, compared to 17.1% of people without a disability. This inactivity rate was much higher than for England excluding London (40.0%) and the gap had widened since the year to March 2020 (a 2.1 pp increase compared to +0.9 pp)
  • The unemployment rate for people with a disability in the North East (8.4%) was more than twice that of people without (3.5%), highlighting the difficulty of finding work for people with a disability who are active in the labour market. Small sample sizes mean that further analysis of local unemployment data is limited
  • The North East inactivity rate for males with a disabilty (50.7%) was higher than the female equivalent (48.1%) and had overtaken it in the most recent year
  • The North East inactivity rate for people with a disability was the highest among the eight core city areas. Locally, the rate was highest in County Durham and lowest in Sunderland.

Ill health lasting more than 12 months

Key points:

In the year to March 2023, among North East adults:

  • About 654,000 (just over 40%) had one or more health condition or illness lasting more than 12 months, a slightly higher percentage than for England excluding London
  • This total had increased by over 55,000 or 9.3% since the year to March 2020. Among specific types of illnesses, the highest percentage increase had been among adults with depression; learning problems; mental problems; and nervous disorders (up almost 23%)
  • About 44% of North East adults with one or more such condition were in employment, compared to 48% in England excluding London and 55% of all North East adults. The percentage was fairly unchanged on three years earlier. The latest employment rate was particularly low for adults with difficulty in seeing or hearing
  • Among the eight core city areas, the North East had the third highest percentage of adults with one or more health condition or illness lasting more than 12 months and the lowest employment rate for this group
  • Within the North East, the percentage in this group was highest in Northumberland and the employment rate was lowest in County Durham. Because the percentages are based on all adults, variations by area reflect differences in age structure as well as the prevalence of ill health.

Additional insights from the 2021 census

Detailed age breakdowns

  • The census age profile of the total North East population reflects variations in birth rates over time, combined with lower levels of in-migration than in other areas with the exception of student-age people. In 2021, The highest populations by single years of age were among people in their late 50s 
  • In the North East in 2021 there tended to be more disabled people in older age groups. However, the overall age profile leads to some disparities for single years of age in the area. For example, there were more disabled people aged 56 than aged 71, and more aged 20 than aged 35
  • In 2021, many economically inactive disabled people in the North East stated a main reason for inactivity that was not disablility. Among younger disabled people this was most likely to be study and among those aged 55 to 64 this was most likely to be early retirement.

Characteristics of disabled workers and non-workers

In 2021 in the North East:

  • Working age employment rates for disabled males and females were only around half  the equivalents for people without a disability
  • Rates for disabled males and females with activities limited a lot were less than a third of the rates for those with activities limited a little
  • The employment rate for disabled males was lower than the female equivalent. The reverse was true for males and females without a disability
  • The employment rates for disabled people in the 25-34, 34-44 and 45-54 age groups were very similar while, for non-disabled people, they continued to increase, peaking in the last of these age groups
  • Disabled workers were more likely to be working part-time than non-disabled workers, with the disparity bigger among male workers
  • Compared to their non-disabled counterparts, male and female disabled workers were more likely to be in occupations in caring, leisure and similar services; sales and customer services; and in elementary occupations. They were less likely to be managers or professionals
  • In addition, male disabled workers were more likely to be in administrative and secretarial roles than male non-disabled workers and were less likely to work in skilled trades
  • Disabled workers were more likely to self-employed than non-disabled workers, particularly in older age groups
  • Just over half of economically inactive working age people with a disability cited long-term sickness or disability as the main reason for their inactivity. Only a very small percentage of non-disabled people stated this reason
  • The percentage of working-age disabled non-workers who had never been in employment was only slightly higher than the percentage for non-disabled people. However, the percentage  who had worked but not in the previous year was much higher for people with a disability than for people without.