Burnley District : NS Socio-economic Classification (4-way)

NS Socio-economic Classification (4-way)

Data cube chart.

Year Higher managerial, administrative & professional occupations Intermediate occupations Routine & manual occupations Never worked & long-term unemployed
1841 775 Show data context 3,617 Show data context 3,481 Show data context
1881 7,055 Show data context 27,707 Show data context 57,941 Show data context
1931 6,538 Show data context 50,864 Show data context 16,416 Show data context
1971 1,672 Show data context 1,896 Show data context 1,705 Show data context 657 Show data context
1981 1,728 Show data context 1,610 Show data context 1,663 Show data context 460 Show data context
1991 1,647 Show data context 1,032 Show data context 1,149 Show data context 68 Show data context
2001 12,652 Show data context 9,140 Show data context 22,828 Show data context 5,983 Show data context
2011 25,785 Show data context 12,775 Show data context 26,661 Show data context 9,126 Show data context
2021 17,679 Show data context 14,793 Show data context 28,897 Show data context 13,769 Show data context
Date Source
1841 [ERROR: authority is ''SRC'' but auth_note value of does not appear in SRC_TAB]
1881 Great Britain Historical GIS Project Computed from 1881 microdata
1931 1931 Census of England and Wales, Occupations, Table 17 , 'Occupations (condensed list) of Males and Females, showing also the total Operatives and the total Out of Work'
1971 UK Data Service, Census 1971 data (Table SAS23: "SEG and economic position (10% Sample): Economically Active residents")
1981 UK Data Service, Census 1981 data (SAS50: "Socio-Economic group and economic positions (10% Sample): Economically active residents")
1991 Office for National Statistics, NOMIS - Official Census and Labour Market Statistics (Table S92 "SEG and economic position (10% sample): Economically active residents)
2001 Office for National Statistics, NOMIS - Official Census and Labour Market Statistics (Table UV031, NS-Sec (21 way))
2011 Office for National Statistics, NOMIS - Official Census and Labour Market Statistics (Table QS607UK - NS-SeC)
2021 Office for National Statistics, ONS "Create a Custom Dataset" (National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (17 way))

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nCube definition


Here we simplify the National Statistics Socio-economic Classfication into just four analytic categories, which we try to present over a very long period. Note that up to 1991 the census focused on levels of "skill", and on whether work was "manual", but since 2001 the focus has instead been on whether work was "routine", making comparisons difficult.


How to reference this page:

GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, Burnley District through time | Historical Statistics on Social Structure | NS Socio-economic Classification (4-way), A Vision of Britain through Time.

URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10057085/cube/NS_SEC_4WAY

Date accessed: 03rd June 2026