< Previous | Contents | Next >

Social Focus on Women and Men 2002

chapter five: Labour Market

The number of people in employment in Scotland reached a peak in Spring 2001 with just over 2.3 million people being employed. The proportion of women aged 16 and over in employment has steadily increased since the beginning of the 1960s. In 2001, 45.8 per cent of women were in employment, 0.1 per cent down from Spring 2000 when it reached an all-time-high. Employment rates for working age women were also at their peak at the beginning of the 21st century, increasing from 44.7 per cent in 1960 to 66.9 per cent in 2001. In contrast, employment rates for working age men show a decrease over the same period from 96.5 per cent in 1960 to 77.2 per cent in 2001. The majority of women in employment tend to work in the service industries, and women are more often employed on a part-time basis than men.

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) received 14,259 individual conciliation cases in 2000/01 in Scotland. Of these 9.5 per cent were based on the Sex Discrimination Act compared to 5.4 per cent in the UK. The Sex Discrimination Act was the 5th most used ground on which Scottish cases were based, after unfair dismissal, protection of wages, other grounds, and breach of contract.

Economic Activity

In 2001, 2.5 million people of working age were either in a job or seeking work (economically active) - almost 55 percent of them were men - while 695 thousand people were economically inactive (wanted to work but were not actively looking for it or were unavailable for work) - almost 40 per cent were men.

Historically men are more likely to be economically active than women. However, between 1996 and 2001, the proportion of economically inactive women of working age looking after their home or family showed a decrease from 44.3 per cent to 36.9 per cent. This is mainly due to the fact that more women now have the opportunity to leave the labour market in order to raise their children. The percentage of working age men who were economically inactive increased from 4.3 per cent to 5.6 per cent.

The main reason for men and women of working age to be economically inactive is still long term sickness. In 2001 long-term sickness accounted for 46 per cent of men and almost 30 per cent of women of working age who were economically inactive. These proportions increase for people aged between 50 and retirement age with 59 per cent of men and 54 per cent of women aged 50 and older being inactive because of long term illness in Spring 2001. The second most frequent reason cited for economic inactivity of working age people is retirement (26 and 10 per cent for men and women respectively).

Less women are unemployed than men: 4.2 per cent of economically active women of working age were unemployed (ILO definition) compared with 7.2 per cent of men (Table 5.1).

Table 5.1: Economic activity of people of working age, 2001
Thousand and percentages

Source: Office for National Statistics, Labour Force Survey

The economic activity rate represents the number of people who are either in employment or unemployed as a proportion of the total population of working age. In Spring 2001 78 per cent of the working age were economically active in Scotland. This rate varies according to gender and age. In Spring 2001, 64.9 per cent of women aged 50 to 59 were economically active compared with 90.5 per cent of men aged between 25 and 49 (Chart 5.2).

Chart 5.2: Economic activity rate, by age and gender, Spring 2001.
Percentage

For all ages, women's economic activity rates were lower than those of men. As stated above, one factor which affects women's ability to take up employment is their family responsibilities, both for children and more generally as carers.

Economic activity rates for both men and women aged between 50 and retirement are lower than those for any other age groups. People in this age group often have difficulty returning to work if they have been sick or made redundant. In April 2000, the New Deal for men and women aged over 50 was introduced by the UK government to provide support for skills development for those who wish to return to work.

Employment

In spring 2001, 73.4 per cent of Scottish people of working age were in employment, which represents a peak for the 1984-2001 period. 'In employment' includes employees, the self-employed, people on government employment and training schemes and those working unpaid in family businesses.

As with the overall employment rates, employment rates for women are at their highest levels since 1984 with 66.9 per cent of all women of working age being employed. However, male employment rates have been higher in 1989 and 1990 where respectively 77.5 per cent and 78.0 per cent of all men of working age were employed compared with 77.2 per cent today. Nevertheless, the general trend for both men and women has been upwards over the 1984-2001 period. Whilst the employment rates for men are higher than for women, there is evidence to indicate that over the period 1984 to 2001 the rates are converging (Chart 5.3).

Chart 5.3: Employment rates, by gender, Scotland, 1984-2001.
Percentages

Traditionally men have tended to mainly full-time work whilst women are more inclined to work on a part-time basis. Research carried out by the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) suggests that this pattern could be partly attributed to home or family commitments, but it could also be attributed to a conditioning effect whereby men expect and were expected to work full-time, thus rendering part-time work more acceptable for women.

In Spring 2001, there were 100,000 men working part-time (4.2 per cent of all people in employment and 7.9 per cent of men in employment) against 477,000 women (20.1 per cent of all people in employment and 43.1 per cent of women in employment) (Chart 5.4).

Chart 5.4: People in employment, by gender and mode of working, Spring 2001.
Percentages

Full-time employment for men has fallen since 1992 when it represented 51.3 per cent of people in employment. Part-time working for both men and women, along with full-time working for women has shown a small increase over the same period, although at a slower rate than the decrease in the number of men working on a full-time basis. Nevertheless, part-time working is still dominated by women, as is job sharing: in Spring 2001, of those employed on a job-share basis 82 per cent were women.

Amongst those in full-time employment men traditionally work longer hours in paid employment than women. This pattern continued between 1998 and 2001. The number of hours worked per week has remained fairly stable for each group and is shown in Chart 5.6. On average, women worked 12.2 hours less than their male counterparts. However, when comparing full-time workers, men worked 6.7 hours more than women, while women working part-time worked 0.6 hours more than men working part-time (Chart 5.5). Research carried out by the ISER between 1991 and 1998 suggested that a third of employees in Britain would like to reduce the number of hours that they work each week and would accept the associated wage decrease, while fewer than one in ten employees would like to see their hours increase. Further research findings suggest that 40 per cent of women and 36 per cent of men in full-time employment would prefer to work fewer hours. In contrast, one in three men and one in five women on a part-time basis were working fewer hours than they wanted to. Further findings from the Policy Studies Institute strengthen results from the ISER as it suggests that in 2000 only 29 per cent of women were either 'completely satisfied' or 'very satisfied' with their working hours, compared to 51 per cent in 1992.

Table 5.5: Average weekly numbers of hours worked, by gender and mode of working, 1998-2001

Source: Office National for Statistics, Labour Force Survey

Women still experience difficulty breaking into senior levels at work - nearly 70 per cent of managers and administrators are men, while 74 per cent of clerical and secretarial workers are women, and 69 per cent of those in sales occupations are women. The proportion of men and women in the different occupations has been fairly stable over the years with some professions traditionally dominated by men (Craft & related occupations, plant & machine operatives) and others by women (clerical & secretarial occupations, and sales occupations) (Chart 5.6). A research study undertaken by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) underlines the fact that not only are women less inclined to be in managerial occupations, but when they are, they tend to be concentrated in managing small enterprises, while most of those managing larger companies are men. The Central Research Unit in the Scottish Executive commissioned a study into the participation of women and men at senior levels within business and the professions and in professional associations in Scotland - the findings are consistent with those from the International Labour Organisation. The main finding showed that there is a larger proportion of women in lower grades than in the higher grades across all professions in Scotland. Furthermore this pattern is independent of whether men or women made up the majority of the workforce in the profession.

Chart 5.6: Population of working age: employment by occupation and gender, Spring 2000
Percentages

The uneven allocation of men and women within the different occupations is reflected in the industry breakdown. Traditionally some industries are dominated by men: 91 per cent of employees in construction were men in 2001, 85 per cent were men in energy and water, 80 per cent in agriculture and fishing and 76 per cent in transport and communication. However there are only two industries where women outnumber men: distribution, hotels and restaurants (57 per cent women), and public administration, education and health (69 per cent women) (Chart 5.7).

Chart 5.7: Population of working age: employment by industry and gender, Spring 2001
Percentages

Over the 1996-2001 period, there was only one industry in which the split of men and women reversed itself: in 1996, 53 per cent of people working in the banking, finance and insurance sector were women while by 2001 46 per cent of employees in this sector were women. There were no major changes to the gender mix of employees in other industries over the same period of time.

Unemployment

In Spring 2001 the Labour Force Survey shows there were 144,000 people unemployed (ILO definition), 67.4 per cent of them were men. The number of people unemployed decreased by 40 per cent between 1992 and 2001; however the proportion of men and women remains the same over the period.

Youth unemployment has been the focus of extensive and intensive actions over the past few years. The New Deal for Young People was introduced in January 1998. At the end of September 2001, there were 10,050 New Deal participants, 76.4 per cent of them were male. Of the 70 thousand who left the programme after completion, 40 per cent went immediately into unsubsidised employment. In addition to the New Deal for Young People, the New Futures Fund has provided targeted assistance for young people with particular problems to overcome before entering the labour market.

Up to the end of March 2001, there had been 36,700 starts on New Deal 25+ for those aged 25 and older, 86 per cent of them were men.

In contrast, of the New Deal for Lone Parents participants for the period October 1998 to August 2001, 94 per cent were women. Ten thousand people were still on the New Deal for Lone Parents at the end of August 2001. Of the 12 thousand which had left the programme, 54.2 per cent had gone straight to employment.

At the end of September 2001, there were just over 10 thousand people on the New Deal for Young People, of these, 76 per cent were young men, compared with 72 per cent across Britain. Of the 2,704 people aged 25 years and over and participating in the New Deal in Scotland, 14 per cent were women, compared with 16 per cent for Britain.

ILO unemployment rates measure the proportion of economically active people who fall into either of the following categories:

a) out of work, want a job, have actively sought work in the previous four weeks and are available to start work within the next fortnight,

or

b) are out of work and have accepted a job that they are waiting to start in the next fortnight.

Unemployment rates are higher for people aged under 25 years old, especially for men. Rates have shown a decrease between 1996 and 2001, particularly for women under 25 years old with their rate falling under 9 per cent. The difference between rates for men and women in this age group were the most significant both in 1996 and 2001 and the situation has not greatly improved over this period. Unemployment rates for men aged between 25 and 49 have almost halved between 1996 and 2001 (Table 5.8).

Table 5.8: ILO unemployment rates, by age and gender, 1996-2001.
Percentages

Source: Office for National Statistics, Labour Force Survey
* Represents less than 10,000 people and therefore the rates would not be reliable

The claimant count records the number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits; these are currently the Jobseeker's Allowance and National Insurance credits, claimed at Employment Service local offices. The total number of claimants decreased by almost 40 per cent between 1996 and 2001, with the decrease in women claimants being just over 40 per cent.

Overall, the proportion of people in long term unemployment (more than 12 months) fell from 31 per cent to 20 per cent of unemployed people between 1996 and 2001: this pattern was seen in both male and female claimants. Over the same period the proportion of short-term unemployed increased, particularly for those people claiming unemployment benefit for 3 months or less. This category is usually considered as being the time necessary for people to go from one job to another. The proportion of women claiming unemployment for less than 3 months represented more than 50 per cent of unemployed women in 2001, compared to 40 per cent in 1996 (Table 5.9).

Table 5.9: Claimant count, by duration and gender, 1996-2001.
Percentages and number

Source: Office for National Statistics, Labour Force Survey

On-the-job training

The Scottish Household Survey provides an overview of the Scottish population undertaking on-the-job training. Out of the 10.6 thousand people in private households and aged between 16 and 65 who responded in 2000, 13 per cent responded that they are involved in some form of on-the-job training. There are no major differences between men and women, as 14 per cent of men and 11 per cent of women are undertaking this type of training (Table 5.10).

Table 5.10: Participation in on-the-job training, people aged between 16 and 65, by gender, Scotland, 2000
Percentages

Source: Scottish Household Survey, 2000
Note: Applies to those 16 or older who live in private residence.ource: Office for National Statistics, Labour Force Survey

Working Families Tax Credit

The Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC), which replaced Family Credit, came into effect on October 5th, 1999. It was introduced to help families in Scotland by giving them a 'top-up' to their pay along with help with childcare, and as such represented an incentive to people to work.

In May 2001, 117,600 families were receiving support through the WFTC. Women living alone with their child/children are the most common family type to benefit from the WFTC, they are also receiving the highest average award per week, £5.88 more than the overall average. Families where the man was the main earner or a lone parent, were receiving £11.83 and £10.13 a week less than the overall average.

On average, families benefiting from the WFTC had 1.8 children. Families where the man was the main earner were on average the ones with the highest number of children (2.2) and the lowest average weekly award (£65.42), they were also the second most common family type to benefit from the WFTC (28 per cent) (Table 5.11).

Table 5.11: Average award and average number of children in Families' receiving Working Families Tax Credit, by type of family, Scotland, May 2001
Thousands, percentages and £ per week

Source: Inland Revenue

References and further reading

Scottish Economic Statistics 2001, Scottish Executive,
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/ses2001/ses-00.asp

Scottish Economic Report: June 2001, Scottish Executive,
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library3/economics/2/ser-00.asp

Labour Market Trends: December 2001, Office for National Statistics
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=550&More=N

Labour Market Statistics, November 2001: Scotland, Office for National Statistics,
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/lmsscot1101.pdf

New Deal for Young People in Scotland: Phase 1, Scottish Executive
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/cru/resfinds/ell1-00.asp

New Deal for unemployed people in Scotland: Statistics to end September 2001, Scottish Executive,
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00126-00.asp

Central Research Unit, Scottish Executive,
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/cru/default.asp

Eurostat Yearbook 2001, Eurostat,
http://europa.eu.int/comm/eurostat/

ACAS Annual Report: 2000/2001, ACAS
http://www.acas.org.uk/publications/pub-ar.html

Institute for Social and Economic Research,
http://www.iser.essex.ac.uk

Policy Studies Institute,
http://www,psi.org.uk

Labour statistics which are useful for gender concerns, 1999, International Labour Organisation
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/stat/download/mata.pdf

Working Families' Tax Credit Statistics
http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/wftctables

Contacts

Telephone contact points for further information relating to Chapter 5, Labour Market:

Scottish Executive

Chapter Author
Aline Dutruel
0131 244 0329
aline.dutruel@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Labour Market Statistics
Elaine Drennan
0141 242 5451
elaine.drennan@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

New Deal Statistics
John Sweeney
0141 242 5490
john.sweeney@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Working Family Tax Credit Statistics
Julie Goodall
0131 244 3004
julie.goodall@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Office for National Statistics

Labour market statistics
Helpline 020 7533 6094
e-mail labour.market@ons.gsi.gov.uk

< Previous | Contents | Next >