East of England employment rate: residents aged 16 to 64
East of England employment rate: residents aged 16 to 64 stood at 78.3% in Mar 2026, according to Nomis — official labour market statistics (ONS). It is one of the indicators in the Labour market structure table (Value · Monthly), with a complete series running from Dec 2004 to Mar 2026. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Labour market structure table
| Indicator | 03-2026 | 12-2025 | 09-2025 | 06-2025 | 03-2025 | 12-2024 | 09-2024 | 06-2024 | 03-2024 | 12-2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employment rate, aged 16 to 64 | |||||||||||
| East of England | 78.3 | 78.4 | 78.6 | 78.7 | 78 | 77.3 | 76.5 | 76.2 | 77.1 | 77.5 | |
| London | 74.8 | 74.9 | 75 | 75.5 | 75.4 | 75.7 | 75.9 | 75.2 | 74.5 | 74.6 |
Understanding east of England employment rate: residents aged 16 to 64
Residents aged 16 to 64 living in the East of England who perform any paid work, whether as employees, the self-employed, participants in government-supported training programmes, or unpaid family workers, form the numerator of this indicator. The denominator comprises all residents in that same age bracket, regardless of their nationality or immigration status, while excluding those living in communal establishments such as halls of residence or prisons. Unlike unemployment metrics, this measure includes individuals working a single hour per week alongside full-time staff, and unlike inactivity figures, it captures those actively engaged in earning. This regional breakdown isolates the proportion of working-age inhabitants connected to the labour market within these specific boundaries, stripping out demographic size differences to allow comparison with other geographic areas.
Interpreting this percentage requires caution regarding sample sizes, as regional subsets carry wider confidence intervals than national aggregates. Survey estimates undergo regular weight recalibration against population projections, introducing revisions to historical periods when demographic baselines update. Seasonal hiring patterns affect these figures across different quarters, making twelve-month comparisons more reliable than consecutive period assessments for spotting genuine shifts. Analysts should also note that an increase in this employment percentage can happen simultaneously with rising unemployment if more economically inactive people start searching for jobs without immediately securing positions.
Frequently asked questions
- Does this employment measure count people where they work or where they live?
- This statistic counts residents based on their household location rather than the physical address of their workplace.
- Are students included in this regional employment denominator?
- Yes, individuals who are studying are included in the working-age population count and are counted as employed if they undertake any paid work.
- Why do these regional figures experience volatility between survey quarters?
- Sample sizes for single regions are smaller than national totals, leading to higher sampling variability from one quarterly release to the next.