York’s labour market combines high participation with a large professional workforce and a broad service economy. The latest Annual Population Survey figures cover April 2025–March 2026, while jobs and pay measures use 2024 or 2025 data. These measures describe different populations and periods, so they should not be treated as one single-time snapshot.
Contents
- Current employment and participation
- Unemployment and the Claimant Count
- Economic inactivity and workless households
- Occupations and qualifications
- Working patterns and hours
- Jobs, industries and earnings
Current employment and participation
The Annual Population Survey recorded 119,600 economically active people aged 16 and over in York during April 2025–March 2026. The economic-activity rate was 81.5% of residents aged 16–64. Economic activity includes people in work and people who are unemployed but available for work and seeking it.
Employment stood at 117,300 people aged 16 and over, giving an employment rate of 79.9% among residents aged 16–64. Employees accounted for 103,700 residents, or 71.5% of the 16–64 population. A further 12,900 people were self-employed, equivalent to 8.1% of residents aged 16–64. These figures come from the Labour Market Profile for York, published by Nomis using official Census and labour-market statistics.
Participation differed by sex in the same period. There were 57,400 economically active males aged 16 and over, with a male economic-activity rate of 85.9% among males aged 16–64. Male employment totalled 56,600, and the male employment rate was 84.9%.
York had 62,200 economically active females aged 16 and over. The female economic-activity rate was 77.8% of females aged 16–64, while 60,700 females were employed and the female employment rate was 75.9%. The male and female rates use the same April 2025–March 2026 measurement period and the same 16–64 rate denominator for each sex.
| Measure, April 2025–March 2026 | People aged 16+ | Rate among residents aged 16–64 |
|---|---|---|
| Economically active | 119,600 | 81.5% |
| In employment | 117,300 | 79.9% |
| Employees | 103,700 | 71.5% |
| Self-employed | 12,900 | 8.1% |
| Survey unemployed | 2,300 | 1.9% of economically active people |
The survey’s 2,300 unemployed people were measured as 1.9% of the economically active population. A separate model-based estimate for the same period was 3,700 people, or 3.0% of the economically active population. These are different unemployment measures and should not be combined or read as a change between periods.
Unemployment and the Claimant Count
The Claimant Count provides a different view of people receiving unemployment-related benefits or who are required to seek work. In August 2026, York had 2,545 Claimant Count claimants, equal to 1.8% of residents aged 16–64. This monthly measure is later than the April 2025–March 2026 Annual Population Survey period.
The August 2026 Claimant Count was 1,410 for males, or 2.1% of male residents aged 16–64. The female count was 1,135, or 1.6% of female residents aged 16–64. The age breakdown recorded 15 claimants aged 16–17, equal to 0.3% of residents in that age group, and 585 claimants aged 18–24, equal to 1.8%.
For narrower age bands, York had 340 claimants aged 18–21, or 1.5% of residents in that group. There were 1,395 claimants aged 25–49, equal to 2.2%, and 550 claimants aged 50 and over, equal to 1.5%. The counts and rates are from the Nomis Labour Market Profile, with August 2026 as the measurement month.
The distinction between the survey and administrative measures matters when interpreting York employment statistics. The 1.9% survey unemployment rate describes the Annual Population Survey estimate for April 2025–March 2026. The 3.0% model-based estimate is a separate estimate for that same period, while the 1.8% Claimant Count rate describes August 2026 claimants. Each answers a different question.
Economic inactivity and workless households
York had 25,700 economically inactive residents aged 16–64 in April 2025–March 2026. The inactivity rate was 18.5% of that age group. Economic inactivity covers people who were not working and were not counted as unemployed, including students, people looking after family or home, and people who are long-term sick.
Students were the largest named group, with 9,300 economically inactive residents, or 36.1% of the inactive total. Long-term sick people accounted for 5,700, or 22.3%. Retired people accounted for 4,000, or 15.4%, while people looking after family or home accounted for 3,400, or 13.1%. The other category contained 2,800 people, or 10.9%.
The survey also recorded whether inactive people wanted a job. Among York’s economically inactive residents aged 16–64, 4,600 wanted a job, representing 17.9% of the inactive group. The remaining 21,100, or 82.1%, did not want a job. These figures describe stated job preference in April 2025–March 2026, not the number of vacancies or a forecast of future employment.
Household data offers another perspective. York had 6,900 workless households in January–December 2025, counting households with at least one person aged 16–64. Workless households represented 9.7% of eligible households. The household period is January–December 2025, so it is distinct from both the labour-force survey period and the August 2026 Claimant Count.
Occupations and qualifications
York’s employed residents were concentrated in higher-level occupation groups. In April 2025–March 2026, 69,300 residents aged 16 and over worked in SOC 2020 occupation groups 1–3. That represented 59.2% of people in employment. The group includes managers, directors and senior officials, professional occupations, and associate professional occupations.
Professional occupations were the largest named group, with 38,500 employed residents, or 32.8% of employment. Associate professional occupations accounted for 18,800 people, or 16.0%, while managers, directors and senior officials accounted for 12,000, or 10.2%.
Other occupation groups show the range of work across the city. Elementary occupations accounted for 13,000 employed residents, or 11.0%. Administrative and secretarial occupations accounted for 9,200, or 7.8%, and caring, leisure and other service occupations accounted for 8,500, or 7.2%.
Skilled trades occupations accounted for 6,500 employed residents, or 5.6%. Sales and customer-service occupations also accounted for 6,500, or 5.5%. Process, plant and machine operatives accounted for 4,200, or 3.6%. The percentages are occupation shares of employment for April 2025–March 2026; they are not wage rankings.
Qualification levels provide additional context. In January–December 2025, York had 74,400 residents aged 16–64 qualified to RQF level 4 or above, equal to 53.8% of that population. There were 4,300 residents aged 16–64 with no qualifications, equal to 3.1%. The qualification measures use the 2025 calendar-year period and should not be interpreted as the same population count as the occupation estimates.
Working patterns and hours
York had 118,000 employee jobs in 2024, excluding self-employed people, government-supported trainees and HM Forces. Of those employee jobs, 76,000 were full-time, representing 64.4%, and 42,000 were part-time, representing 35.6%. These are jobs rather than unique employed residents, so the totals should not be compared directly with the Annual Population Survey employment count.
The 2021 Census records the hours reported by York residents aged 16 and over who were in employment. In 2021, 12.5% worked 15 hours or less per week, compared with 11.7% in 2011. A further 21.4% worked 16–30 hours, compared with 21.1% in 2011.
Most reported working 31–48 hours per week: 56.9% in 2021, up from 56.0% in 2011. The share working 49 or more hours was 9.2% in 2021, down from 11.2% in 2011. These Census comparisons are presented in How life has changed in York: Census 2021, the Office for National Statistics visualisation. They describe residents’ reported hours in 2011 and 2021, not the 2024 employee-job split.
Jobs, industries and earnings
York had 133,000 total jobs in 2024, with a jobs density of 0.96 jobs per resident aged 16–64. The total includes a wider range of jobs than the 118,000 employee-job measure, which excludes self-employed people, government-supported trainees and HM Forces.
Among York employee jobs excluding farm-based agriculture, human health and social work activities accounted for 18,000 jobs, or 15.3%, in 2024. Wholesale and retail trade and motor-vehicle repair accounted for 15,000, or 12.7%. Education accounted for 14,000, or 11.9%, while accommodation and food service activities accounted for 13,000, or 11.0%.
The industry figures indicate a labour market with substantial health, education, retail and hospitality employment. They describe employee jobs located in York in 2024, rather than the industries of every York resident or a forecast of hiring.
Pay data is available for 2025. Median gross weekly pay for full-time York residents was £766.60. The equivalent median for full-time workers at York workplaces was £766.40. The resident measure concerns where workers live, while the workplace measure concerns where jobs are located; the near-identical values do not mean the two populations are identical.
Median hourly pay excluding overtime for full-time York residents was £20.84 in 2025. Weekly and hourly medians measure different aspects of pay, and the weekly figure is not a calculated conversion of the hourly figure. All jobs, industry and earnings figures in this section are reported by the Nomis Labour Market Profile, with the stated measurement year retained for each measure.