Employment by permanency of the job - Incidence — Temporary employment in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Employment by permanency of the job - Incidence — Temporary employment was 5.05 Percentage of population in the same subgroup in 2025. ▼ Falling
Employment by permanency of the job - Incidence — Temporary employment in United Kingdom, 1983–2025
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage of population in the same subgroup.
Analysis
The most recent figure for employment by permanency of the job - incidence — temporary employment in United Kingdom is 5.05 Percentage of population in the same subgroup, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 6.7% on the previous year and down 18.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment by permanency of the job - incidence — temporary employment in United Kingdom peaked at 7.39 Percentage of population in the same subgroup in 1997 and was at its lowest, 4.73 Percentage of population in the same subgroup, in 2024.
That places United Kingdom 32nd out of 37 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 43 years of available data.
Employment by permanency of the job - Incidence — Temporary employment in United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | Percentage of population in the same subgroup | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 5.5 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | — |
| 1984 | 6.16 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | +12.0% |
| 1985 | 7.02 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | +14.0% |
| 1986 | 7.03 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | +0.1% |
| 1987 | 6.3 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | -10.4% |
| 1988 | 6.02 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | -4.4% |
| 1989 | 5.39 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | -10.5% |
| 1990 | 5.24 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | -2.8% |
| 1991 | 5.32 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | +1.5% |
| 1992 | 5.54 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | +4.1% |
| 1993 | 5.86 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | +5.8% |
| 1994 | 6.45 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | +10.1% |
| 1995 | 6.99 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | +8.4% |
| 1996 | 7.05 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | +0.9% |
| 1997 | 7.39 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | +4.8% |
| 1998 | 7.06 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | -4.5% |
| 1999 | 6.8 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | -3.7% |
| 2000 | 6.96 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | +2.4% |
| 2001 | 6.75 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | -3.0% |
| 2002 | 6.39 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | -5.3% |
| 2003 | 6.11 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | -4.4% |
| 2004 | 6.02 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | -1.5% |
| 2005 | 5.75 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | -4.5% |
| 2006 | 5.79 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | +0.7% |
| 2007 | 5.84 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 5.41 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | -7.4% |
| 2009 | 5.63 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | +4.2% |
| 2010 | 6.1 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | +8.3% |
| 2011 | 6.15 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | +0.8% |
| 2012 | 6.34 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | +3.0% |
| 2013 | 6.22 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | -1.8% |
| 2014 | 6.42 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | +3.1% |
| 2015 | 6.18 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | -3.7% |
| 2016 | 6.06 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | -1.8% |
| 2017 | 5.88 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | -3.0% |
| 2018 | 5.59 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | -5.0% |
| 2019 | 5.23 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | -6.4% |
| 2020 | 5.38 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | +2.7% |
| 2021 | 5.59 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | +3.9% |
| 2022 | 5.43 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | -2.7% |
| 2023 | 5.27 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | -3.1% |
| 2024 | 4.73 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | -10.2% |
| 2025 | 5.05 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | +6.7% |
United Kingdom compared with similar countries
- United Kingdom's 5.05 Percentage of population in the same subgroup is below the median for high income countries, which is 9.58 Percentage of population in the same subgroup, 53% of the median. (31 countries reporting)
- United Kingdom's 5.05 Percentage of population in the same subgroup is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 11.39 Percentage of population in the same subgroup, 44% of the median. (24 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 6.2 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | 5.39 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | 7.03 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | 7 |
| 1990s | 6.37 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | 5.24 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | 7.39 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | 10 |
| 2000s | 6.07 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | 5.41 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | 6.96 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.02 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | 5.23 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | 6.42 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.24 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | 4.73 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | 5.59 Percentage of population in the same subgroup | 6 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
- 29 New Zealand 7.21 Percentage of population in the same subgroup compare
- 30 Ireland 7.09 Percentage of population in the same subgroup compare
- 31 Australia 5.27 Percentage of population in the same subgroup compare
- 33 Hungary 4.58 Percentage of population in the same subgroup compare
- 34 Costa Rica 4.28 Percentage of population in the same subgroup compare
- 35 United States 4.26 Percentage of population in the same subgroup compare
More work & labour data for United Kingdom
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 22,956 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 60.91 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 35,770 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 4.93 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 1.07 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 111,361 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 100,223 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 57.91 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 1.47 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 0.4352 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment by permanency of the job - incidence — temporary employment in United Kingdom?
- Employment by permanency of the job - incidence — temporary employment in United Kingdom was 5.05 Percentage of population in the same subgroup in 2025, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
- What is the highest employment by permanency of the job - incidence — temporary employment recorded in United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 7.39 Percentage of population in the same subgroup in 1997.
- What is the lowest employment by permanency of the job - incidence — temporary employment recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.73 Percentage of population in the same subgroup in 2024.
- How does United Kingdom rank for employment by permanency of the job - incidence — temporary employment?
- United Kingdom ranks 32nd out of 37 countries with data for 2025.
- Is employment by permanency of the job - incidence — temporary employment rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United Kingdom data come from?
- The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Employment by permanency of the job - Incidence — Temporary employment. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
This dataset contains incidences and gender composition of temporary employment with standardised age groups (15-24, 25-54, 55-64, 65+, total). Data are further broken down by professional status - employees, total employment. Data are reported for employees. Temporary employees are wage and salary workers whose job has a pre-determined termination date as opposed to permanent employees whose job is of unlimited duration. They include: i) persons with a seasonal job; ii) persons engaged by an employment agency or business and hired out to a third party for carrying out a “work mission”; iii) persons with specific training contracts (including apprentices, trainees, research assistants, probationary period of a contract, etc.). Country-specific exceptions to this generic definition may be found in LFS_NOTES_SOURCES. In order to facilitate analysis and comparisons over time, historical data for OECD members have been provided over as long a period as possible, often even before a country became a member of the Organisation. Information on the membership dates of all OECD countries can be found at OECD Ratification Dates