Numbers of non-working men and women aged 16-64 in London (2020 Q1 and 2023 Q3)
Reasons for not working for men and women aged 16-64 in London (2020 Q1 and 2023 Q3)
This indicator shows the reasons for not working for men and women, as well as the number of working-age people not working in London.
The number of men not working increased from 2020 Q1 to 2023 Q3 from 610k to 678k, while the number of women fell from 908k to 887k.
The largest difference between men and women is the proportion of those who do not work because they are looking after their family or home. While only 3.7% of non-working men fall in this category, 32.5% of women do.
The proportion of women who cite looking after family or home as their reason for not working fell in 2023 Q3 compared to 2020 Q1 from 36.2% to 32.5%, and so did the absolute number (329k to 289k). On the contrary, the proportion of women who were unemployed increased from 10.7% to 12.3%, with the absolute number rising from 98k to 109k. This change in composition is likely caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The proportion of long-term sick increased by 0.9 percentage points to 20.6% for men and the proportion of temporary sick increased by 2.3 percentage points to 4.3%. Women also saw an increase in the temporarily sick from 1.1% to 2.3%, but a decrease in the long-term sick from 13.3% to 13%.