NS Socio-economic Classification (4-way)
| Year | Higher managerial, administrative & professional occupations | Intermediate occupations | Routine & manual occupations | Never worked & long-term unemployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1841 |
67,500
|
216,890
|
238,253
|
|
| 1881 |
143,914
|
498,782
|
400,400
|
|
| 1931 |
181,668
|
563,895
|
361,318
|
|
| 1971 |
97,355
|
59,495
|
51,120
|
36,881
|
| 1981 |
121,474
|
59,889
|
55,863
|
28,180
|
| 1991 |
137,131
|
44,001
|
55,197
|
8,425
|
| 2001 |
1,126,632
|
699,216
|
1,072,960
|
316,827
|
| 2011 |
2,299,732
|
1,030,770
|
1,344,979
|
489,370
|
| 2021 |
1,774,545
|
1,231,302
|
1,464,708
|
677,785
|
| 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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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.