At the time of the 2006 Census, 65 percent of people aged 15 years and over were employed.
Full-time employment
Of the people employed at the time of the 2006 Census, 77 percent (1,465,962) were in full-time work. Of these:
- 18 percent had no qualification.
- 32 percent had a school qualification as their highest qualification.
- 49 percent had a post-school qualification as their highest qualification.
Part-time employment
Of the people employed part-time:
- 21 percent had no qualification.
- 43 percent had a school qualification as their highest qualification.
- 37 percent had a post-school qualification as their highest qualification.
Note: People who are employed full-time usually work 30 hours or more per week, while people who are employed part-time work fewer than 30 hours per week. People not in the labour force include those people aged 15 years and over who are neither employed nor unemployed (for example, retired people, students, people with personal and family responsibilities, people unable to work for medical reasons, and those not actively seeking work).
Qualifications and occupation
In 2006, the level of highest qualification varied across the eight main occupational groups.
- The most common occupation for people with no qualification was labourer (25 percent). The least common occupation was professional (3 percent).
- For people with a bachelor's degree/level 7 qualification, the most common occupational group was professional (53 percent) and the least common was machinery operator and driver (1 percent).
- Those with a higher degree were most likely to be in the professional group (61 percent).