UK economic inactivity rate: Scotland aged 16 to 64
UK economic inactivity rate: Scotland aged 16 to 64 stood at 22.2% in Jun 2026, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS). It is one of the indicators in the Labour market table (Value · Monthly), with a complete series running from Apr 1992 to Jun 2026. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Labour market table
| Indicator | 06-2026 | 05-2026 | 04-2026 | 03-2026 | 02-2026 | 01-2026 | 12-2025 | 11-2025 | 10-2025 | 09-2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economic inactivity rate by region, aged 16 to 64 | |||||||||||
| Scotland | 22.2 | 22 | 21.8 | 22.2 | 22.6 | 22.6 | 22.1 | 22.2 | 22.2 | 22 | |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 22.9 | 22.2 | 22.1 | 22.8 | 22.7 | 23 | 22 | 22.4 | 22.5 | 23.4 |
Understanding UK economic inactivity rate: Scotland aged 16 to 64
Working-age residents located north of the border who neither engage in paid employment nor satisfy the criteria for active job search and immediate availability comprise this indicator. The percentage divides this non-working population by the total resident count within the specified demographic bracket. This measure isolates detachment from the labour market, separating itself from employment rates by omitting jobholders and from unemployment rates by excluding active jobseekers.
Interpreting these monthly figures requires awareness of sampling variability that affects territorial subsamples, making smoothing techniques necessary for reliable trend analysis. Revisions occur when survey weights incorporate updated regional population estimates. Observers should evaluate twelve-month shifts to neutralise seasonal education and health-related absences. Analysts must never treat this metric as a proxy for joblessness, because inactive individuals do not participate in job search activities.
Frequently asked questions
- Who falls outside the active labour force in this calculation?
- Anyone aged sixteen to sixty-four without a job who is neither seeking work nor available to start.
- How do revisions impact past data points in this series?
- Updated demographic benchmarks frequently cause retrospective adjustments to historical percentages.
- Why is a period-on-period comparison less reliable than a year-on-year view?
- Short-term survey volatility and academic calendar shifts distort consecutive monthly movements.