We use necessary cookies that allow our site to work. We also set optional cookies that help us improve our website.
For more information about the types of cookies we use, and to manage your preferences, visit our Cookies policy here.

Households and their work status

Work status of London households (2004-2023)

Last updated: April 2025
Next estimated update: April 2026

What does this indicator show?

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.

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.

What does it tell us?

In 9% of London’s working age households, no adults are in work. The proportion of workless households has fallen since 2004 when 15% of households contained nobody in employment. This means that in 2023, at least one adult does some work in 91% of working-age households in London.

In 2023, there were over 3.1 million households in London (52%) where all adults were in work and another 2.4 million households in London (40%) that contained some working adults. There were 522,000 (9%) households in London where no-one was in work.

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.