London's Poverty Profile is divided into five themes:
- People;
- Living standards;
- Housing;
- Work, worklessness and benefits; and
- Shared opportunities.
Each one provides insights into a range of different indicators of poverty and inequality across London, drawing comparisons over time, between different boroughs and with the rest of the country.
The Work, Worklessness and Benefits theme highlights the nature of work in London and the inequality of work outcomes, including overall employment and unemployment rates, the types of contracts people are on, and their earnings and benefits.
Pandemic Claimant Count Change: Baseline and Increase Levels (2020-21)
Key findings
- Every area has seen an increase in claims
- Average threefold increase
- Significant increase in areas with historically high levels of employment (shown in orange)
- Areas with higher numbers of food service, transportation and hospitality workers hit hard (east Newham, north Brent, south Waltham Forest and south Hillingdon)
Every area has seen an increase in the claimant count, with the average being almost a tripling across the 14 month period. The size of the increase, however, is uneven. While some areas have historically had high unemployment levels, other areas with traditionally high levels of employment have seen substantial increases, well over and above the London average, while others have been less impacted.
The first map above shows the size of the increase in each of London's ~4800 small statistical areas (LSOAs) and whet…
This page brings together a series of maps using data from our London borough comparison tile.
Boroughs have been labelled higher, lower, or mid (average) according to threshold values of one standard deviation above or below the mean of all the borough values.
English Index of Multiple Deprivation (rebased for London) (2019)
Deprivation varies significantly across London, and, to truly understand the diversity of deprivation across the city, it is useful to adapt national indices to compare within just London itself, excluding variations outside the capital. Mapped here are the deciles of neighbourhoods in London as defined by the Index of Multiple Deprivation, which integrates deprivation domains relating to income, employment, crime, living environment, education, health and barriers to housing and services, in various proportions, to produce an overall index.
Every neighbourhood in England has been given a deprivation score based on various measures which form each domain above, integrated together in various proportions to produce a single value. They are then ranked for England. We have taken these rankings and rebased, by excluding all non-London areas …
Actual weekly hours by gross weekly pay quintile across Q2 - Q3 in London and the rest of England (2010-2021)
Looking at hours worked within London and the rest of England can give us a useful insight on our working patterns pre- and post-pandemic. Actual hours worked are heavily impacted by external factors, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas usual hours are not expected to change much over the years.
Actual hours worked varied particularly between 2019 and 2020 for the bottom income quintiles within England. Within London, the decline in actual hours worked for the 2nd income quintile is most extreme between 2019 and 2020 - dropping from 36.8 to 25.6 hours per week. For almost all income quintiles, the amount of actual hours worked has bounced back to pre-pandemic levels as the economy recovers. However, for those in the 2nd income quintile, the amount of hours in 2021 (33.1 hours) are still below pre-pandemic levels in 2019 (36.8 hours).
A…
London households affected by the benefit cap (2014 - 2023 Q4)
What does this indicator show?
The benefit cap limits the amount of money that most working-age people can receive from benefits. In Greater London the limit is £25,323 per year or £16,697 for single adults with no children. This was reduced in November 2016, and recently increased in April 2023. The benefit cap is applied by either reducing Universal Credit or Housing Benefit (for those not claiming Universal Credit).
What does it tell us?
More than 25,000 households in London had their income reduced by the benefit cap in November 2023. This has increased by more than 35% since before the pandemic (November 2019). However, the number of households affected by the benefit cap has been steeply reducing since a peak of 33,000 households during the pandemic.
The data refers to the month of November for each year spanning 2014 to 2023 and incl…
Work status of London households (2004-2022)
What does this indicator show?
A household is considered “workless” when at least one member of the household is aged between 16 and 64 and none of its adults are in employment. This indicator shows the proportion of households in London where no adults are in work, and the proportion where some or all adults are in work.
What does it tell us?
In 8% of London’s working age households, no adults are in work. That's 501,000 households across the city. The proportion of workless households has almost halved since 2004 when 15% of households contained nobody in employment. There was a slight increase to 9% in 2021 likely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, before returning to 8% in 2022. This means that in 2022, at least one adult does some work in 92% of working-age households in London.
In 2022, there were over 3.2 million households in Lond…
Work status of London households by net income quintile (2022/23)
Last updated: June 2024
Next estimated update: September 2024
What does this indicator show?
This indicator shows the work status of London households, split by income quintile. We can use it, for example, what percentage of London households on the lowest 20% of incomes have all adults in full-time employment.
What does it tell us?
This indicator tells us that household work status is closely related to household net incomes. Overall, households with lower net incomes are more likely to include inactive, retired or unemployed adults.
For example, just 8.5% of households on the 20% lowest income live in households where all adults work full time. By contrast 63.3% of those in the top 20% of the net income distribution live in households where all adults work full time.
Nearly one in five of those in the bottom net income quintile live in econ…
Economic activity status of Londoners aged 16 and over (2023 Q3)
More than 4.7 million Londoners – 65.7% of the adult population – were in work of some kind in the year to September 2023. This is higher than the 60.4% of adults who are employed in the rest of England.
Nearly one third of adults in London are classed as economically inactive (31%) - which means they are not employed, and not looking for a job or able to start work. There are many reasons someone might be economically inactive, such as because they are too ill to work, retired, or a student.
Labour market activity by sex
There are over 296,500 more men in work in London than women. Men who live in London are also more likely to be self-employed than women – 14.2% compared to 7.8%.
Women are significantly more likely to be economically inactive than men, with 38.6% of women not working compared to 29.9% of men. For many types of inactivit…
Proportion of jobs in London workplaces that are paid below London Living Wage by employment type (2005-2023)
This page looks at the proportion of jobs in London paid below the London Living Wage by:
- employment type (full-time and part-time)
- industry
- occupation
- borough
Here we focus on workplace based numbers. This means that jobs may be held by Londoners or by people who live elsewhere but commute into the capital. For data on jobs held by London residents only, please see 'Low-paid Londoners'.
The London Living Wage was introduced in 2005. It is a voluntary wage rate based on the amount of money that people need to live. The rate in London in April 2023 when the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings we use for this analysis was conducted was £11.95.
The proportion of low-paid jobs in London has increased slightly in 2023 (13.4%) compared to 2022 (13%); this follows a steady decline since 2018 that partially reflects the distorting effects of …
Proportion of London residents' jobs paid below London Living Wage by employment type (2005-2023)
This page looks at jobs held by London residents that are paid below the London Living Wage broken down by:
- employment type (full-time and part-time)
- sex
- sex and employment type
- ethnicity
- disability
- qualification level
- employment status (permanent and non-permanent)
These jobs may be located within London or outside the capital. For a similar analysis focused on jobs located in London only, please see 'Low-paid jobs in London'.
The London Living Wage was introduced in 2005. It is a voluntary wage rate based on the amount of money that people need to live. The rate in London in April 2023 when the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings we use for this analysis was conducted was £11.95.
The proportion of low-paid jobs held by Londoners has increased slightly in 2023 (16.4%) compared to 2022 (16.2%); this follows a steady decline since 2018 th…
This page looks at jobs held by borough residents that are paid below the London Living Wage. For jobs located in boroughs, please see 'Low-paid jobs in London', chart four.
The London Living Wage was introduced in 2005. It is a voluntary wage rate based on the amount of money that people need to live. The rate in London in April 2023 when the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings we use for this analysis was conducted was £11.95.
Barking and Dagenham had the highest proportion of residents who were low paid (24.6%) in 2023 followed by Brent (23.3%) and Enfield (22.8%). By contrast Wandsworth (9.7%), Hammersmith and Fulham (9.9%) and Kensington and Chelsea (10%) has the lowest proportion.
Barking and Dagenham also had a significant increase compared to 2022 in the proportion of low-paid residents of 5 percentage points, closely fol…
Proportion of Londoners aged 16-64 receiving out-of-work benefits by benefit type (2014-2023 Q4)
Last updated: June 2024
Next estimated update: September 2024
What does this indicator show?
This indicator shows the proportion of working-age Londoners out-of-work and receiving benefits.
What does it tell us?
13.2% of working-age Londoners are out-of-work and on benefits - a slight increase since last year (12.3%).
The number of out-of-work benefit claimants aged 16-64 jumped in 2020 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, peaking at 14.5% in 2020.
The types of benefits claimed by those out of work has also changed in recent years, as Universal Credit has rolled out across the capital. For example, 0.7% of working-age Londoners were out of work and claiming Universal Credit in 2016. By 2023, this proportion had risen to 10.2% of the working-age population.
Compared to the rest of England
London now has a similar proportion of its working-age p…
80:20 hourly wage ratio by London borough (2013, 2019 and 2023)
There are many ways of measuring pay inequality. This indicator considers the 80:20 hourly wage ratio, which shows how much greater hourly pay is for those at the 80th percentile of the hourly pay distribution than for those at the 20th percentile. The larger the ratio, the more unequal hourly pay.
Based on this measure, pay inequality is significantly higher in London than in England. In London, the 20% highest paid earn at least 2.5x more per hour than the 20% lowest paid. In England, the figure is 1.72.
Since before the pandemic, wage inequality has decreased in every borough where data are available, except Wandsworth. Every borough has a higher level of pay inequality than the England average.
Indexed gross hourly pay in London and England (2002-2023)
This indicator shows how hourly pay for Londoners’ in employment (before tax, adjusted for inflation) has changed over time, using 2008 as a baseline. On average, Londoners are paid 8.5% less per-hour (as of 2023) than in 2008 - lower than any point since 2015.
Hourly pay for lower earners
Hourly pay for lower earning Londoners at the 10th income percentile has grown significantly since 2014. Londoners in this group are paid 11.5% more per-hour (as of 2023) than they were in 2008. This rise is even more extreme in the rest of England, where those at the 10th income percentile earn 19% more per hour than they did in 2008.
This rise is likely driven by increases in the minimum and Living Wages. However, when we look at weekly and yearly pay - instead of hourly - we don’t see the same increase in earnings for those on lower incomes.
Hourly pay…
Indexed gross annual pay in London and England (2000/01 - 2022/23)
This indicator shows how yearly pay for Londoners’ in employment (before tax, adjusted for inflation) has changed over time, using 2008 as a baseline. On average, Londoners are paid 8.9% less (as of 2023) than they were in 2008.
Yearly pay for lower earners
Over the last 10 years, annual pay for Londoners at the lower 10th percentile has increased by 9%. This group are also paid slightly more per year (2.2%) than they were at the start of the pandemic.
However, Londoners at the 10th percentile are still paid significantly less (11.2%) per year than they were in 2008. This is despite earning more per hour than in 2008, as shown by our hourly pay over time indicator.
Yearly pay for higher earners
Londoners at the 90th percentile (those with incomes above 90% of other Londoners) are paid 8.3% less than they were in 2008.
Before the pandemic, t…
Percentage of people on out-of-work benefits by London borough (2022 Q2 and 2023 Q2)
People on out-of-work benefits, by London borough
Employment status of all adults aged 16+ in poverty (2011/12 - 2022/23)
Last updated: May 2024
Next estimated update: May 2025
What does this indicator show?
This indicator shows the employment status of all Londoners in poverty. By looking at the percentage of people in poverty who are employed, we can see the prevalence of in-work poverty in London.
What does it tell us?
More than half (51%) of working-age Londoners in poverty are employed. Just below half (44%) of those aged 16 and over who are in poverty in London are economically inactive (retired, long-term sick, studying or looking after the home). Another 5% are unemployed.
The proportion of people (aged 16 and over) in poverty who are working is higher in London (51%) than it is in the rest of England (43%). In the last decade, the proportion of people in poverty who are employed has gone up slightly - from 46% in 2012/13 to 51% in 2022/23. The proportion…
Main industry categories for those in in-work poverty (2022/23)
Last updated: May 2024
Next estimated update: May 2025
What does this indicator show?
This indicator looks at the industries in which those experiencing in-work poverty are most likely to work. It shows the proportion of Londoners in in-work poverty that are working in each of the ONS’ Standard Industry Classifications.
What does it tell us?
In London, the most common industry for people in in-work poverty to work in is human health and social work activities. This group accounts for 13% of Londoners in in-work poverty.
The second most common industry for people in in-work poverty to work in in London is administrative and support service activities. This group accounts for 11% of Londoners in in-work poverty.
By contrast in the rest of England the most common industry for people in in-work poverty to work is wholesale/retail and motor repair (…
Occupation categories for those in in-work poverty (2022/23)
Last updated: May 2024
Next estimated update: May 2025
What does this indicator show?
This indicator looks at the types of job in which Londoners experiencing in-work poverty are most likely to work. It shows the proportion of Londoners in in-work poverty that are employed in each of the ONS’ Standard Occupational Classifications.
We can also look at the proportion each category makes up of working Londoners not in poverty. This helps us to see which occupation types are most likely to see people experiencing in-work poverty.
What does it tell us?
Of everybody experiencing working poverty, more worked in elementary occupations than any other job category, with 18% of people in in-work poverty in London categorised in this way. By contrast, only 4% of working Londoners who are not in poverty are in elementary occupations. Elementary occupations…
Number of children, adults, and pensioners in London in poverty by working status (2012/2013, 2017/2018 and 2022/2023)
Last updated: May 2024
Next estimated update: May 2025
What does this indicator show?
This indicator shows the number of people living in poverty in London, split by life-stage (children, adults and pensioners) and the working-status of their household. A ‘working household’ is one where at least one adult is in work and a ‘workless household’ is one in which no adults are in work.
What does it tell us?
We can see that more Londoners living in poverty are in working households than in workless households. This has been consistently the case for the last decade. In 2022/23 we find some 930,000 people in poverty are living in working households. By contrast, 380,000 people in poverty are living in working-age workless households.
A similar pattern is true if we look at children in poverty. 480,000 children in poverty live in households where som…
Proportion of people in London in poverty by type of working household over time (1998/99 - 2022/23)
Last updated: May 2024
Next estimated update: May 2025
What does this indicator show?
This indicator shows the percentage of people in poverty, split by their household working status. It focuses on families where at least one adult is in work, to explore the nature of in-work poverty in London. For example, we can see the percentage of people who live in a household where all adults are in full-time work that are in poverty.
What does it tell us?
Household work status is closely related to the likelihood of the household being in poverty. This indicator shows that, on average, the fewer adults who are in work, the more likely the household is to be in poverty:
- Households where one or more adult works part time (and none work full time) have the highest poverty rate. Nearly half of people (43%) living in such households are in poverty.
- In contr…
Numbers of non-working 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…
Average travel time by public transport to jobs and services by neighbourhood income deprivation decile (2019)
Based on average travel times by public transport, Londoners have much better access to jobs and services than people in the rest of England. For example, the average journey time by public transport to the nearest large employment centre from the 10% most deprived areas is 21 minutes in London compared to 25 minutes in the rest of England.
For the same measure, people living in the most income-deprived areas of London have slightly better access than those in less income-deprived areas. The average journey time to public services (such as schools, GPs and hospitals) is more than 25% longer for the least deprived areas in London than the most deprived areas.
Journey times are only part of how well Londoners can access jobs and services. Price is also an important factor with people on low incomes unable to make the most of the opportunit…
Underutilised labour market capacity in London (2004 - 2023 Q4)
Last updated: June 2024
Next estimated update: September 2024
What does this indicator show?
This indicator shows the underutilised labour market capacity in London, over time. Put simply, this is the proportion of working age adults who want to work more than they currently do. We can see this split by people who are part-time but want to work full time; people who are unemployed (meaning economically active, but out of work); and people who are economically inactive (for example due to studying, sickness or caring responsibilities) but want to work.
What does it tell us?
Across London, 9.6% of working-age adults want to work more than they currently do. This is lower than every other year shown here except for 2022, when the figure was 9.3%.
A decade ago, the proportion of people in London wanting to work more than they currently do was much…
Unemployment rates in London for men and women (Mar 1993 - Mar 2024)
Last updated: June 2024
Next estimated update: September 2024
What does this indicator show?
This indicator shows the proportion of Londoners that are unemployed, split by sex.
What does it tell us?
The unemployment rate in London more than halved since its post-financial crisis peak in 2011 (10.1%) to 4.6% in March 2024. 2021 saw it increase substantially to 7%, reaching levels not seen since 2015. This increase is likely the result of the slowdown of the economy caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Other factors, such as those put on furlough and the change in inactivity within the labour market, should also be considered. Unemployment rates have decreased since, to 4.6 in 2024 (March).
Women in London have a slightly higher unemployment rate than men - 4.7% compared to 4.5%. Over the past three decades, this gender split has become more even ov…
Unemployment rate over time (2004 Q4 - 2023 Q4)
Last updated: June 2024
Next estimated update: September 2024
What does this indicator show?
This indicator shows the unemployment rate over time for London, the rest of England, and for Inner and Outer London.
What does it tell us?
The picture now
Outer London’s unemployment rate is 5.1%, slightly above the rate in Inner London of 4.8%. Both Inner and Outer London have higher unemployment rates than the rest of England (3.5%).
How this has changed over time
From 2012 until 2019, unemployment followed a steady decline after peaking in the aftermath of the financial crisis. In Inner London, the unemployment rate more than halved from 2011 to 2019, from 10% to 4.5%. It recovered to pre-financial crisis levels in 2014. In Outer London, it declined from 9.1% in 2011 to 4.6% in 2019, and did not recover its pre-crisis levels until 2016.
Unemployment…
Unemployment rate by London borough (2022 Q4 and 2023 Q4)
What does this indicator show?
A person is considered ‘unemployed’ if they are out of work, but looking for or available to work. This indicator shows the unemployment rate - the proportion of economically active people (that is those either employed or unemployed) age 16+ who are unemployed - in each London borough.
What does it tell us?
The unemployment rate varies across London boroughs with the highest rates in 2023 Q4 nearly twice as high as the lowest. Hillingdon (7.0%), Barking and Dagenham (6.8%) and Tower Hamlets (6.3%) contrast with Hackney (3.8%), Southwark (3.9%), and Wandsworth (4.0%).
Compared to the previous year, most boroughs saw increases, some quite large - Hillingdon, Kensington and Chelsea, Bromley, Kingston upon Thames, Hackney, Bexley and Merton all saw increases of more than 2 percentage points. A few boroughs saw dec…
Unemployment rates by age group (2004 Q4 - 2023 Q4)
Last updated: June 2024
Next estimated update: September 2024
What does this indicator show?
This indicator shows the unemployment rate* in London and the rest of England split by age groups. We can use it to see how the unemployment rate among young people (16-24) compares to those aged 25-64 and those aged 65+.
What does it tell us?
Unemployment is much higher among young Londoners than other age groups. It’s also significantly higher than among young people in the rest of England.
The unemployment rate is 14.6% for young Londoners. Although this is lower than its peak during the COVID years (18.5%), it’s significantly higher than among those aged 25-64 (4.2%). Those aged 25-64 also appear to have been less impacted by the COVID pandemic - they saw a small increase from 3.5% in 2019 to 4.8% in 2020. However, other labour market factors, e.…
Proportion of workers in London in temporary employment (2011-2022 Q2)
Just over 5% of people in work in London are on temporary contracts. Temporary contracts are more prevalent amongst women in work than men: 30% more women than men were on a temporary contract in 2022 (Q2).
The proportion of workers on temporary contracts has remained relatively consistent over the past decade, fluctuating between just over 4.5% and just under 6% of all workers. In 2022 (Q2), 0.84% of women in work and 0.66% of men in work were on a temporary contract and reported that it was because they could not find a permanent job
Proportion of London's working-age population who are not in paid work by ethnic group (2013 Q4, 2020 Q1 and 2023 Q4)
Last updated: June 2024
Next estimated update: September 2024
What does this indicator show?
This indicator shows the proportion of people who are not in paid work in London, split by ethnicity.
Worklessness here is different from unemployment. Unemployment only includes people who are ‘economically active’ - those who are in work, looking for work, or able to start work soon. The figure here also includes ‘economically inactive’ people, which includes people who are unable to work as they are studying, retired, sick, or a family carer. This means that the figures in this indicator are much higher than unemployment rates. See reasons for not working.
What does it tell us?
39.5% of working-age Londoners with Pakistani/Bangladeshi backgrounds are not working - more than any other group shown here. Black Londoners have the second highest proport…
Worklessness for men and women in London by country of birth (2021/22 Q1)
Just under two-thirds (63%) of working-age women in London who were born in Bangladesh did not work in the year to March 2021/22, the highest rate of any nationality. Pakistani women are not far behind with 61% not working. Of men in London who were born overseas, those from China have the highest rate of worklessness (28%).
Women originally from Portugal had the lowest rates of worklessness (2%), while those from Sri Lanka had the lowest rate for men (9%). For most countries, the worklessness rate is higher for women than men, although this trend does not hold true for countries such as Lithuania, Portugal, France, Romania, Poland and Italy.