Home | Press | Publications | What We Do | Who We Are | Search | Site Map | Contacts | Links
Publications
Publications > People, Communities & Living

< Previous | Contents | Next >

Scottish Household Survey Bulletin No.5

4. Economic Activity

Introduction

Previous sections of this bulletin have drawn on data collected in the first part of the SHS interview with the HIH. This, and following sections, focus on the information collected in the second part of the interview which is conducted with a randomly selected adult within the household (in many cases, of course, both parts of the interview are completed by the same person).

This section focuses on the economic activity of the adult population, particularly any differences between men and women. Factors often associated with economic activity, such as education and training and the presence of children in the household are also examined in this section.

Economic status is self-defined by the respondent in the SHS. For this reason, figures may differ from the official unemployment statistics which use International Labour Organisation definitions.

Table 12 shows the economic status of all adults (aged 16 or over) and adults of working age (males aged 16 to 64 and women aged 16 to 59). There are clear differences between the economic activity patterns of male and female adults. Sixty-two per cent of women of working age are in employment (self-employed or working full- or part-time), compared with 71% of men of working age. A higher proportion of men than women are employed full-time, self-employed, unemployed and unable to work due to sickness or disability. Subsequently, women are more likely to be in part-time employment or looking after the home or family than men.

Table 13 shows economic activity rates by the age and sex of the working age population. Clear patterns relating to age and life stage emerge in this table. As might be expected, the overall proportion of people in employment reaches a peak among 35 to 44 year old men and women (84% and 71% respectively). Within the overall employment rate, the balance between self-employment, full-time employment and part-time employment also changes. Rates of self-employment increase with age, particularly for men, reaching a peak among those aged between 45 and 59 years. Self-employment accounts for only 2% of men and 1% of women in the youngest age group and increases to 13% of men and 4% of women aged between 45 and 59 years.

The proportion of adults in part-time employment remains fairly constant for men across the different age groups (2%) but changes for women. Only 9% of women aged between 16 and 24 years work part-time compared with 23% of women aged between 25 and 34 years and 32% of women aged 35 to 44 years.

The number of hours of paid employment in an average week is shown in Table 14. As might be expected due to the different rates of participation in full- and part-time work by men and women, there are considerable differences in the number of hours worked by men and women. Thirteen per cent of women work for 16 hours or less per week compared with 1% of men. Conversely, 22% of men work for 47 hours or more per week compared with 5% of women.

Working adults' economic activity patterns also vary by marital status. Table 15 shows the economic activity of women by marital status. Women who cohabit with their partner but who are not married are more likely to work full-time than women in all other marital status groups. Married women are more likely to be in part-time employment than women in any other marital status group. Single, divorced and separated adults of both sexes are more likely than married or cohabiting adults to be unemployed (no table).

Seventy-four per cent of men who are in full-time employment are married or cohabiting compared with 63% of women in full-time employment (no table).

Of women who are in part-time employment, 81% are married or cohabiting, while only 9% are single. Over 50% of unemployed women and 47% of unemployed men are single (no table).

Further detail on how economic status is distributed within and between households is provided in tables 16 and 17 which show the economic activity of working age women by household type and household working status.

< Previous | Contents | Next >

The information contained on this WWW site is Crown Copyright but may be reproduced without formal permission or charge for personal or in-house use. Privacy and Content Disclaimer.

For general enquiries about this web site email ceu@scotland.gov.uk or fill out our online questionnaire.