Frequently Asked Questions
- Where can I find population by ethnicity?
- Where can I find information on UK residents by country of birth/nationality by region?
- Where can I find information on foreign workers?
- Why can't I use survey data at Local Authority level?
- What does economically active/inactive mean?
- What age group are 'working age' people?
- What is the difference between claimant count and Job Seeker allowance?
- What is the difference between "mean" and "median"?
- Why can't I get data for my postcode?
- Where can I find local authority maps?
Where can I find population by ethnicity?
Population estimates by ethnic group are available for mid-2001 and mid-2007. These estimates are by age and by sex, and cover England and its constituent administrative areas, being Government Office Regions, counties and local authority districts.
- Population estimates (ONS website)
Where can I find information on UK residents by country of birth or nationality by region?
This data is sourced to, and can be found in, the ONS Annual Population Survey.
- Annual Population Survey (ONS website)
Where can I find information on foreign workers?
Migrant Worker Employment information is extracted from the Labour Force Survey. This information is released on a quarterly basis and provides estimates of migrant workers, in the UK, by country of birth.
- Migrant Worker Employment information (ONS website)
Why can't I use survey data at Local Authority level?
Surveys use balanced samples of people to obtain information on a variety of topics. The results are scaled up to represent the whole population. These results are accurate at national level but become less accurate at regional or local authority level due to the small sample sizes involved.
What does economically active/inactive mean?
”Economically active” people are people aged 16 and over who are either in employment or unemployed.
“Economically inactive” people are working age people who are neither in employment nor unemployment on the International Labour Organisation (ILO) measure.
What age group are “working age” people?
From August 2010 the definition of working age people for statistical purposes is 16-64 for both males and females. This differs from the actual retirement age for females which is being increased on a gradual basis.
What is the difference between claimant count and Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) recipients?
The claimant count measures the number of people who are claiming unemployment related benefits. Since October 1996 this has been the number of people claiming JSA.
What is the difference between “mean” and “median”?
The “mean'” which is commonly referred to as the “average”, is the sum of a series of values, divided by the number of values. So, for example, if the ages of four friends are 62, 65, 69 and 87, their mean, or average age, is 71.
(62+65+69+87)/4=70.75 or 71 rounded up.
The “median” is the middle value, of a series of values, when listed in size order. If the number of items is even then the median is taken to be the value halfway between the middle pair. So, taking the four friends in the above example, their median age is halfway between 65 and 69, or 67.
Why can't I get data for my postcode?
Postcodes are a point or collection of points so while useful for pinpointing areas, they are not good for accurate collection of statistics. There is very little data available based on postcodes.
Where can I find local authority maps?
A range of reference maps can be found at the UK Map Collection. Maps 4a and 4b contain data for all local authorities
- UK Map Collection (ONS website)