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Employment rate

Proportion of working age population in employment

Labour Market Newcastle North Tyneside South Tyneside Durham Gateshead Sunderland Northumberland
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The latest North East employment rate

This rate measures the proportion of the working age population who are in work.  The 16 to 64 age group is used as a proxy for working age to allow for historical and international comparisons.

people in employment include employees, self-employed people, unpaid family workers and those on Government supported training & employment programmes.

The latest local labour market statistics are based on responses to the Annual Population Survey (APS) across the 2023 calendar year. In that period:

  • About 73% of the North East 16-64 population was in employment
  • the North East rate was 2.6 percentage points (pp) higher than a year earlier and at its highest level since comparable data started in 2004
  • the England excluding London rate was higher but the gap had recently narrowed 
  • the North East rate was the fourth highest among the eight English core city areas
  • at local authority level, the highest North East rate was in Gateshead and the lowest was in South Tyneside
  • at constituency level, the employment rate was highest in Newcastle upon Tyne North and lowest in Wansbeck.

Employment by sex and age

In 2023 in the North East, among those aged 16 to 64 :

  • Just over 70% of females and almost 76% of males were in employment
  • both of these rates were at their highest level since the start of comparable data in 2004
  • the female rate continued to be lower than the male rate and the gap widened in the latest year
  • both the female and male North East rates weres highest among 35 to 49 year-olds
  • North East rates were lower than those for England excluding London for six of the eight categories. The exceptions were rates for females and males aged 16 to 24
  • the largest net increases in North East employment in the latest year were among females aged 16 to 24 and among males aged 35 to 49.