Occupational Statistics (Post 1914)

While data on demographic variables appears in remarkably similar form in successive censuses, occupational data varied greatly both in terms of reporting units and in how occupations were classified. Research by Clive Lee at Aberdeen sought to create a consistent set of statistics at county level, and the resulting data are held in 'occ_cnty', but a similar exercise for lower-level reporting units is impractical, hence the range of tables listed here.

Because of the large number of occupational tables, they are divided between two sections. This section holds data for the period since the First World War, during which the occupational tables focused on what the individual worker actually did, and separate industry tables contained information on their employer's business. These are held elsewhere in the database.

Between 1921 and 1951, the census provided very detailed occupational data for counties, County Boroughs and other large towns, and much simpler statistics for smaller urban areas and for Rural Districts. As a result, for each of 1931 and 1951 the database contains separate transcriptions of the two raw data tables, plus a derived table containing summary statistics for ALL individual local government districts.


Tables within section:

TableTypeContents
occ_1921 Raw Data 1921 Male and Female Occupational Statistics for Local Govt. Districts
occ_1931_codebook Codebook Codebook assigning 1931 occupations to social classes and other categorisations
occ_1931_ew Derived 1931 Summary Occupational Statistics for ALL Local Government Districts
occ_1931_lg_t Raw Data Detailed 1931 occupational statistics for counties and large towns
occ_1931_s Raw Data Detailed occupation information for Scottish cities, counties and burghs from 1931.
occ_1931_s_codebook Codebook Codebook assigning 1931 occupations for Scotland to social classes and other categorisations
occ_1931_sm_f Raw Data Condensed 1931 occupational statistics for females in smaller districts
occ_1931_sm_m Raw Data Condensed 1931 occupational statistics for males in smaller districts
occ_1951_ew Derived 1951 Summary Occupational Statistics for ALL Local Government Districts
occ_1951_ew_stat Raw Data Occupational Status (unemployment etc) for 1951
occ_1951_lg_t Raw Data Detailed 1951 occupational statistics for counties and large towns
occ_1951_s Raw Data Detailed occupation information for Scottish cities, counties and burghs for 1951.
occ_1951_sm_f Raw Data 1951 Occupational Statistics for Females in small towns and rural districts
occ_1951_sm_m Raw Data 1951 Occupational Statistics for Males in small towns and rural districts
occ_1971_unem Raw Data 1971 Census unemployment data for Local Government Districts
occ_1991_unem Raw Data 1991 unemployment rates interpolated onto 1898 Registration Districts
occ_2011_ew Raw Data 2011 Occupational Statistics for Local Authorities in England and Wales
occ_2011_s Raw Data 2011 Occupational Statistics for Local Authorities in Scotland
occ_cnty Raw Data Standardised County-level Occupational Statistics 1841-1971