JSNA – People – Employment

Last Updated: May 2024

Employment

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The Employment Dashboard details employment data in Barnet benchmarked against London and England with demographic breakdowns included. The dashboard is organised into two sections:

  • Labour Supply and Demand: indicators for (un)employment rate, employees by industry, and wages.
  • Benefits and Financial Support: indicators for universal credit, employment and support allowance, carers allowance, attendance allowance, and personal independence payment.

Headline Figures

  • Between October 2022 and September 2023, 28.8% of residents aged 16-64 years in Barnet were economically inactive – this is higher than both the London and England average.
  • Specific demographic groups that have shown an increase in economic inactivity are males and ethnic minority groups.
  • The predominant employment sector in Barnet is healthcare, representing a higher proportion of workers than both London and England.
  • Residents who are aged 35 to 49 years, females and unemployed residents in Barnet were most likely to claim Universal Credit.

Narrative

Economic inactivity / unemployment 

  • Between October 2022 and September 2023, 28.8% of residents aged 16 to 64 years in Barnet were economically inactive, exceeding both the London (21.5%) and England (21.1%) averages. 
  • During the same period, approximately 5.5% of economically active residents aged 16 or over in Barnet were unemployed, again surpassing both the London (4.8%) and England (3.8%) averages. 
  • The proportion of economically inactive residents from ethnic minority groups aged 16 to 64 years has shown a notable increase in the last two reporting periods, from October 2021 to September 2023. The latest figure stands at 34.6%, surpassing both the London (27.5%) and England (25.9%) averages. 
  • Another significant demographic group experiencing economic inactivity is males aged 16 to 64 years, with a nearly 12% increase in the latest reporting period (26.9%) compared to the preceding one (14.8%). 
  • Although the economic inactivity rate among females aged 16 to 64 years saw a decrease from the preceding reporting period (34.5%) to the latest one (30.8%), it has consistently remained higher than both the London and England averages over the last three periods, as well as compared to their male counterparts throughout all reporting periods. 

Industry 

  • The predominant sector in Barnet is healthcare, consistently surpassing the proportion of full-time workers in the health sector in both London and England from 2015 to 2022. 
  • In 2022, the latest reporting period, education, retail, and health sectors collectively accounted for nearly half of part-time employment in Barnet, each comprising 17% of the workforce. 
  • The employment rate for managers, directors, and senior officials experienced the most significant decline in Barnet, dropping by 4% from the previous reporting period (October 2021 – September 2022) to the latest one (October 2022 – September 2023). Despite this decrease, Barnet’s employment rate (12.1%) in this category was higher than the England average (10.9%) but slightly lower than the London average (12.5%) during the latest period. 
  • On the other hand, employment in sales and customer service occupations saw a notable increase in Barnet, rising by almost 6% from the preceding reporting period (3.3%) to the latest one (9.2%). 

Benefits 

  • Residents who are aged 35 to 49 years, females and unemployed residents in Barnet were most likely to claim Universal Credit, the most comprehensive living support for low-income or jobless households, within the last 12 months spanning from February 2023 to February 2024. 
  • Similarly, residents aged 35 to 49 years, predominantly females, were most likely to claim Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), an income replacement benefit for individuals below state pension age whose health conditions or disabilities impede their capacity to work. 
  • Over the same 12-month period, residents with circulatory conditions and those affected by factors influencing health status and contact with health services constituted the most prevalent conditions among ESA claimants in Barnet. Nevertheless, the proportion of ESA claimants with these conditions relative to Barnet’s total population was lower than both the London and England averages.  

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