Scottish household survey 2015: annual report

5 Economic Activity

5.1 Introduction and ContextThe Scottish Government is committed to improving the economic situation and opportunity of people in Scotland, through sustainable economic growth ^[38] . The Scottish Household Survey ( SHS) gathers information about the current economic situation and the characteristics of individuals and households in different economic activity categories.

The information gathered in the SHS about the current economic situation of members of the household is reported by the respondent to the 'household' part of the interview and may not conform to official definitions of employment and unemployment. The SHS has questions on these topics only for selecting the data of particular groups, such as working adults ^[39] or those who are permanently retired from work, for further analysis or for use as background variables when analysing other topics.

The official source of statistics on employment, unemployment and economic activity is the Labour Force Survey for Scotland and the Annual Population Survey at a local authority level. Results from both surveys are available from the Scottish Government website ^[40] .

In this chapter, the current economic situation of adult men and women is considered. This is followed by an examination of the economic situation of working households, starting with the number of working adults within households. In households with adults of working age ^[41] , the current economic situation is further analysed by gender and whether an adult has a long standing illness, health problem or disability. Finally, this chapter explores the current economic situation of women of working age, specifically investigating the impact of whether there are children present in the household.

Main Findings

Just under one in five (17 per cent) adults had no qualifications, with those aged 75 and over least likely to have qualifications (45 per cent).

In 2015, 51 per cent of working age adults in households earning over £40,000 had degree level or professional qualifications, while only four per cent had no qualifications.

A higher proportion of men (60 per cent) than women (50 per cent) were currently in work. Women were more likely to be in part-time employment than men (17 compared with 5 per cent). In contrast, self-employment was more common among men than women (8 and 4 per cent, respectively).

There was a relationship between the highest level of qualification and full time employment, with those who have attained degree level or professional qualifications having the highest proportion in full-time employment (59 per cent). In contrast, 29 per cent of adults with no qualifications were in full time employment.

5.2 Highest Qualification Level

Table 5.1 shows that the proportion of those with a degree or professional qualification was highest in the 25 to 34 and 35 to 44 age categories (37 and 40 per cent, respectively) and can then be seen to decrease by increasing age group. The proportion of adults with degree level or professional qualifications was lowest for those aged 16 to 24 (16 per cent), but this is likely to be because many adults in this age category were in higher or further education and had therefore not completed degree qualifications.

In contrast, just under one in five adults (17 per cent) had none of the qualifications listed below. Of these, the highest proportion was in the 75 and over age group, with around half (45 per cent) having no qualifications.

Table 5.1: Highest level of qualification held by gender and age

Column percentages, 2015 data

Adults	Male	Female	16 to 24	25 to 34	35 to 44	45 to 59	60 to 74	75 plus	All
Degree, Professional Qualification	28	30	16	37	40	31	26	19	29
HNC/ HND or equivalent	11	11	12	15	15	13	7	5	11
Higher, A level or equivalent	19	16	35	17	17	17	11	7	17
No qualifications	17	18	8	8	8	16	30	45	17
O Grade, Standard Grade or equivalent	21	20	27	22	18	23	16	8	20
Other qualification	3	5	1	1	1	1	9	15	4
Qualifications not known	1	1	1	1	1	0	1	2	1
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Base	4,240	5,160	750	1,210	1,390	2,440	2,380	1,240	9,410

Links between degree level qualifications and higher incomes can be seen among working adults ^[42] (Table 5.2). In 2015, as income increased, the proportion of working age adults with a degree or professional qualification increases, while conversely, the proportion with no qualifications decreases (Figure 5.1).

Figure 5.1: Highest level of qualifications held by working adults by net annual household income

2015 data, Adults (base: 6,400)

Table 5.2: Highest level of qualifications held by working adults by net annual household income

Column percentages, 2015 data

Adults	£0 - £6,000	£6,001 - £10,000	£10,001 - £15,000	£15,001 - £20,000	£20,001 - £25,000	£25,001 - £30,000	£30,001 - £40,000	Over £40,000	All
Degree, Professional Qualification	21	11	14	19	22	29	35	51	31
HNC/ HND or equivalent	6	11	10	13	15	14	14	13	13
Higher, A level or equivalent	33	20	19	20	19	21	20	18	20
O Grade, Standard Grade or equivalent	17	27	33	28	26	25	22	14	23
Other qualification	3	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1
No qualifications	21	26	20	17	15	9	8	4	11
Qualifications not known	-	4	1	1	1	1	0	0	1
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Base	160	450	880	910	760	690	1,060	1,490	6,400

5.3 Current Economic Situation

A higher proportion of men (60 per cent) compared to women (50 per cent) were 'currently in work'. In 2015, this is demonstrated in Table 5.3, with some of the key differences picked out and displayed graphically in Figure 5.2, which shows that men were more likely to be full-time employed or self-employed, while women were more likely to be part-time employed or looking after the home or family.

Table 5.3: Current economic situation of adults aged 16 and over

Column percentages, 2015 data

Adults	Male	Female	All
Self employed	8	4	6
Employed full time	47	29	38
Employed part time	5	17	11
Looking after the home or family	1	9	5
Permanently retired from work	22	26	24
Unemployed and seeking work	5	2	4
Education/training	7	8	7
Permanently sick or disabled	4	4	4
Other	1	1	1
Total	100	100	100
Base	4,240	5,160	9,410

Figure 5.2: Current economic situation of adults aged 16 and over by gender

2015 data, Adults (base: 9,410)

5.3.1 Current Economic Situation of Working Age Adults

Table 5.4 shows that men of working age were more likely to be employed in paid work compared to women. Men were employed predominantly either full-time (58 per cent) or were self-employed (10 per cent). Taken together with the relatively small proportion of working age men employed part-time, this means that over seven in ten (73 per cent) adult men of working age were currently engaged in some form of paid work.

In comparison, 64 per cent of working age women were in some form of paid work. However, there was greater variation in how women were employed. Full-time employment was the most common type of employment and accounted for 38 per cent of working age women. However, unlike men, the next most common option among women was part-time employment which accounted for 21 per cent of working age women.

It was relatively uncommon for men or women of working age to be permanently retired from work (5 per cent males; 6 per cent females). This is likely to have under-represented all those who have taken early retirement as some who do so will subsequently take up other employment opportunities.

Table 5.4: Current economic situation of adults of working age by gender

Column percentages, 2015 data

Working age adults (16-64)	Male	Female	All
Self employed	10	5	7
Employed full time	58	38	48
Employed part time	5	21	13
Looking after the home or family	2	12	7
Permanently retired from work	5	6	5
Unemployed and seeking work	6	3	5
At school	2	2	2
Higher/Further education	7	8	7
Government work/training scheme	-	0	0
Permanently sick or disabled	5	5	5
Unable to work due to short term ill-health	1	1	1
Other	0	0	0
Total	100	100	100
Base	3,030	3,560	6,590

There was a relationship between the highest level of qualification and full time employment (Table 5.5), with those who had attained degree level or professional qualifications having the highest proportion in full-time employment (59 per cent). In contrast, 29 per cent with no qualifications were in full time employment. This group also had the highest proportion (20 per cent) who were permanently sick or disabled.

Table 5.5: Current economic situation of adults of working age by highest level of qualification

Column percentages, 2015 data

Working age adults (16-64)	Degree, Professional Qualification	HNC/ HND or equivalent	Higher, A level or equivalent	O Grade, Standard Grade or equivalent	Other qualification	No qualifications	Qualifications not known	All
Self employed	8	8	8	6	11	5	*	7
Employed full time	59	53	45	42	37	29	*	48
Employed part time	12	14	12	15	10	10	*	13
Looking after the home or family	5	6	5	10	7	11	*	7
Permanently retired from work	6	3	4	4	16	8	*	5
Unemployed and seeking work	2	4	3	8	5	9	*	5
At school	0	-	4	4	-	2	*	2
Higher/Further education	6	9	15	4	5	2	*	7
Government work/training scheme	0	-	0	0	-	-	*	0
Permanently sick or disabled	2	3	3	5	5	20	*	5
Unable to work due to short term ill-health	0	1	1	2	4	3	*	1
Other	0	0	-	-	0	0	*	0
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Base	2,040	860	1,240	1,470	100	830	40	6,590

It is possible to compare the differing economic situations of the adults with limiting long-term conditions with the rest of the population (Table 5.6). In 2015, just over a quarter (27 per cent) of adults of working age with a long-standing physical or mental health condition or illness were permanently sick or disabled.

Around a quarter (23 per cent) of working age adults who reported having long-standing physical or mental health condition or illness were in full-time employment. In comparison, around half (53 per cent) of working age adults who did not report having long-standing physical or mental health condition or illness were in full-time employment. Excluding those who are permanently sick or disabled, the proportion of people with limiting health issues who were in full-time employment rises to 31 per cent.

Table 5.6: Current economic situation of adults of working age by whether they have a long-standing physical or mental health condition or illness

Column percentages, 2015 data

Working age adults (16-64)	Limiting long- term condition	Non-limiting long-term condition	No long-term condition	All	Excluding 'Permanently sick or disabled'
					Limiting long- term condition	Non-limiting long-term condition	No long-term condition	All
Self employed	5	6	8	7	7	6	8	8
Employed full time	23	54	53	48	31	54	53	50
Employed part time	10	13	14	13	13	13	14	14
Looking after the home or family	9	4	6	7	12	4	7	7
Permanently retired from work	8	13	4	5	12	13	4	5
Unemployed and seeking work	6	3	4	4	8	3	4	5
At school	1	2	2	2	1	2	2	2
Higher/Further education	5	3	8	7	7	3	8	7
Government work/training scheme	0	-	0	0	0	-	0	0
Permanently sick or disabled	27	1	0	5	-	-	-	-
Unable to work due to short term ill-health	6	0	0	1	8	0	0	1
Other	0	-	0	0	0	-	0	0
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Base	1,320	390	4,850	6,560	910	380	4,840	6,130

5.4 Working Households

In this section the focus is on working households. Firstly, the number of adults in paid employment ^[43] in households is examined. Subsequently, adults of working age are investigated in more detail.

5.4.1 Adults in Paid Employment

As Figure 5.3 shows, in 2015 for Scotland as a whole, just over four fifths (62 per cent of) households had at least one adult in paid employment. This was made up of just a third of households (33 per cent) containing two or more adults in paid employment and 29 per cent having one adult in paid employment. The remaining households (38 per cent) contained no adults in paid employment.

The number of working adults in a household varied according to the deprivation levels of the area in which they were situated. Just over a half of households in the 20 per cent most deprived areas contained at least one adult in paid employment (51 per cent). In comparsion, over six in ten households in the rest of Scotland contained at least one adult in paid employment (64 per cent).

Figure 5.3: Number of adults in paid employment by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation

2015 data, Households (minimum base: 1,910)

It is important to note that while these estimates demonstrate that households in the most deprived areas were less likely to contain adults in employment, these households also contained fewer adults and we would therefore expect to see a smaller proportion of households in these areas to have two or more working adults. Furthermore, the figures presented here are for all households that took part in the survey. This means the data presented includes people who you would not necessarily expect to be in paid employment. For example, pensioners, people who have taken early retirement and students are all included. The results have not been broken down further because the SHS is not the recognised source for employment statistics.

5.4.2 Women of Working Age

The final section of this chapter focuses on the current economic situation of women of working age and examines the difference in situation according to whether there are children in the household.

Table 5.4 showed that the majority of women of working age are in some form of work and Table 5.7 shows that the presence of children in the household does not significantly affect this. The 2015 SHS found that 64 per cent of women in households containing children were in work, compared to 63 per cent of those without children.

The main differences between the two groups of working age women were that a higher proportion of those with no children in the household were employed full-time (45 per cent compared with 28 per cent of those where children are present), while a higher proportion with children in the household were looking after the home or family (22 per cent compared with 5 per cent of those with no children present).

Table 5.7: Current economic situation of women by presence of children in the household

Column percentages, 2015 data

Working age females (16-64)	Yes, have children	No children	All
Self employed	5	4	5
Employed full time	28	45	38
Employed part time	31	14	21
Looking after the home or family	22	5	12
Permanently retired from work	0	9	6
Unemployed and seeking work	3	3	3
At school	2	2	2
Higher/Further education	6	9	8
Government work/training scheme	0	0	0
Permanently sick or disabled	2	6	5
Unable to work due to short term ill-health	1	1	1
Other	0	0	0
Total	100	100	100
Base	1,380	2,190	3,560