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Labour market and travel to work : Overview

On 8 December 2022, as part of our topic summaries releases for Census 2021, we published data about labour market and travel to work in England and Wales.

What's included in the Census 2021 labour market results

The Census 2021 labour market results included data about the number of people in work and what they did for work on Census Day.

This answered questions like:

  • how many people were employed on Census Day?
  • what was the most common occupation in England and Wales?
  • which industry in England and Wales did most people work in?

What's included in the Census 2021 travel to work results

The Census 2021 travel to work results included data about how people travelled to work and the distance they travelled.

This answered questions like:

  • how did patterns of home working vary across England and Wales on Census Day?
  • what modes of transport were people using to get to work across England and Wales?
  • what was the average distance people travelled to get to work?

You can find out more about the labour market and travel to work results for England and Wales (opens in a new tab)  on the Office for National Statistics (ONS) website.

Restrictions that the UK Government and Welsh Government put in place during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic affected both labour market and travel to work data.

You can find out more about how this affected the data in Travel to work quality information for Census 2021 (opens in a new tab)  and Comparing Census 2021 and Labour Force Survey estimates of the labour market (opens in a new tab)  on the ONS website.

Important information:

We created " Census maps (opens in a new tab) " on the ONS website. This interactive map allows you to see labour market data in different local authority areas and neighbourhoods, as well as other Census 2021 data already released.

Important information:

The industries we work in have changed a lot in the 10 years leading up to Census 2021. Find out about emerging digital and creative jobs and what’s happening to traditional sectors in How industries have changed at a local level between censuses (opens in a new tab)  on the ONS website.