Underutilised labour market capacity in London (2004 - 2023 Q4)
This indicator was last updated in June 2024. It is now archived and will no longer be updated. Explore London’s Poverty Profile to view our up to date indicators. If you have any questions, get in touch.
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 higher, peaking at 17.3% in 2012. It has decreased steadily since then, except for an increase during the COVID-19 pandemic up to 12.3% (in 2020).
While this fall in underutilised labour activity is positive, the proportion of Londoners wanting more work has clear implications for the high levels of in-work poverty in the capital. Explore other indicators such as low paid Londoners and poverty and employment status to learn more about Londoners’ experiences of in-work poverty.
Want to know more?
If you want to explore this data in more depth, check the 'data source and notes' button on the above charts. This will tell you where the data comes from, where you may be able to dig deeper.