Key messages - In employment
Introduction
In our Key Messages series we try to keep things simple and concentrate on the key messages. We’ve used evidence from official sources to back up those messages but have tried not to overburden the reader with information. More information on the issues presented in the series can be found throughout the reports written by Futureskills Scotland and available from their website.
This note presents some key messages from the labour market in relation to people in employment.
We’ve used the latest official data to describe changes to the employment rate, the kinds of industries people are employed in, the broad occupations people are employed in and whether they work full or part-time.
Key messages
- The employment rate in Scotland is high and has been steadily increasing over the last ten years.
- More than four out of every five employees in Scotland work in the service sector.
- Most employees in Scotland are in full-time permanent jobs.
- Slightly more than half of the jobs in Scotland are held by females. Though greater proportions of females work part-time.
- Working hours in Scotland have not changed at all in the last ten years or so.
How many people are employed in Scotland?
Figure 1 Employment rate over the last 10 years
- There are roughly 2.3 million people in employment in Scotland. Those in employment include all those who did at least one hour of paid work in the previous week or who are currently on holiday from work. Those on Government training schemes are also classed as in employment.
- Expressing 2.3 million as a proportion of the working age population gives us the employment rate - 75 per cent. This is actually a little higher than the rate of 74 per cent for the UK as a whole. These figures are taken from the June 2006 release of the Annual Population Survey.
- The employment rate has been increasing steadily in the last 10 years and is higher now than it has ever been.
What industries do people work in?
Figure 2. Employment by Industry
1.96 million people, or 82 per cent of employees, in Scotland work in the service industries (includes distribution, hotels and restaurants down to other services).
- Manufacturing employment totals 230,000 jobs, representing ten per cent of total employment in Scotland.
- Scotland differs a little from Great Britain as a whole in terms of how total employment is shared between industries. Public services and construction account for a larger share of jobs in Scotland. Lower shares of Scottish jobs are taken up by manufacturing and banking, finance, insurance and distribution, hotels, restaurants.
What types of jobs do people do?
Figure 3. Employment by Occupation
Scotland’s occupational profile, or how total employment is shared between different types of jobs, is broadly similar to the UK's as a whole.
- There is a lower proportion of employees at manager and senior official level in Scotland compared to the UK and slightly higher proportions of elementary staff and process, plant and machine operatives.
How is employment split by gender and by full or part time?
Figure 4. Employment by type
A little more than half of all employees in Scotland are female.
- The majority of men work full-time but for females the split between full-time and part-time work is more even. 85 per cent of male employees work full-time compared to 52 per cent of female employees.
- Most employees in Scotland are in full-time jobs.
- Part-time employment has increased in recent years but in addition to, rather than as a replacement for, full-time work.
- Most employees who work part-time do so through choice not because they are unable to find full-time positions.
Do people work longer hours?
Figure 5. Average weekly hours worked in Scotland
An enduring myth is that working hours have increased dramatically over time. In fact, average weekly working hours have changed very little in the past decade.
- In 2006 basic working hours (excluding overtime) were 37 hours. Almost unchanged from the figure in 1998.
- Over the same period overtime hours were also remarkably steady. Actually falling from five hours in 1998 to four hours in 2006.
