Scottish household survey 2019: annual report

5 Economic Activity

A higher proportion of men compared to women were in work in 2019.

The proportion of women in work has risen from 45 per cent in 1999 to 53 per cent in 2019. Sixty per cent of men were in work in 1999, and the same proportion of men were in work two decades later in 2019.

In 2019, around one in three adults (32 per cent) had a degree or professional qualification. This was highest for those aged 25 to 34 (40 per cent) and 35 to 44 (44 per cent).

The proportion of adults without any qualifications has decreased from 23 per cent in 2007 to 15 per cent in 2019.

Almost half of adults aged between 16 and 64 years were in full-time employment (49 per cent), an increase from 45 per cent in 1999.

Men aged 16-64 were more likely to be in employment than women aged 16-64 (74 and 68 per cent respectively). Men in this age group were predominantly in full-time employment (58 per cent) or self-employed (11 per cent). Women in this age group were less likely to be in full-time employment (41 per cent) than men but more likely than men to be in part-time employment (22 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively).

More men (6 per cent) than women (3 per cent) aged 16-64 were unemployed and seeking work^[16].

Those aged 16-64 with limiting health issues were less likely to be in full-time employment. In 2019, just over a quarter (27 per cent) were in full-time employment compared to over half (54 per cent) of those who did not report having a long-term physical or mental health condition or illness.

Just over three fifths (62 per cent) of households had at least one adult in paid employment. The proportion of households containing at least one adult in paid employment rose from 56 per cent in the 20 per cent most deprived areas to 67 per cent in the 20 per cent least deprived areas.

The majority of women aged 16-64 were in some form of work in 2019. The proportion of women in work with children was the same as the proportion with no children (68 per cent). However, the working pattern for women changed with the presence of children in the household. A higher proportion of women with no children in the household were in full-time employment (47 per cent without children, 30 per cent with children), and a higher proportion of women with children were in part-time employment (31 per cent with children, and 16 per cent without children).