Colchester 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 1,981 Show data context 7,217 Show data context 6,128 Show data context
1881 3,075 Show data context 11,279 Show data context 9,965 Show data context
1931 5,038 Show data context 16,343 Show data context 10,411 Show data context
1971 2,437 Show data context 1,487 Show data context 1,171 Show data context 1,210 Show data context
1981 3,396 Show data context 1,549 Show data context 1,375 Show data context 872 Show data context
1991 3,889 Show data context 1,204 Show data context 1,534 Show data context 268 Show data context
2001 33,538 Show data context 19,932 Show data context 30,302 Show data context 12,052 Show data context
2011 71,719 Show data context 29,102 Show data context 37,482 Show data context 19,263 Show data context
2021 54,427 Show data context 35,099 Show data context 41,868 Show data context 24,957 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, Colchester 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/10076833/cube/NS_SEC_4WAY

Date accessed: 02nd June 2026