Informal employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Informal employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) was 6,359 in 2018. ▲ Rising
Informal employment in United Kingdom, 2007–2018
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
United Kingdom recorded 6,359 for informal employment in 2018.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 11.6% on the previous year and up 19.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, informal employment in United Kingdom peaked at 7,197 in 2017 and was at its lowest, 3,909, in 2010.
That places United Kingdom 19th out of 81 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 12 years of available data.
Informal employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) in United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 5,247 | — |
| 2008 | 5,342 | +1.8% |
| 2009 | 5,929 | +11.0% |
| 2010 | 3,909 | -34.1% |
| 2011 | 4,506 | +15.3% |
| 2012 | 4,755 | +5.5% |
| 2013 | 4,638 | -2.4% |
| 2014 | 4,488 | -3.2% |
| 2015 | 4,644 | +3.5% |
| 2016 | 5,026 | +8.2% |
| 2017 | 7,197 | +43.2% |
| 2018 | 6,359 | -11.6% |
United Kingdom compared with similar countries
- United Kingdom's 6,359 is above the median for high income countries, which is 131.49, 48.4× the median. (36 countries reporting)
- United Kingdom's 6,359 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 162.87, 39.0× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5,506 | 5,247 | 5,929 | 3 |
| 2010s | 5,058 | 3,909 | 7,197 | 9 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
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 informal employment in United Kingdom?
- Informal employment in United Kingdom was 6,359 in 2018, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest informal employment recorded in United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 7,197 in 2017.
- What is the lowest informal employment recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 3,909 in 2010.
- How does United Kingdom rank for informal employment?
- United Kingdom ranks 19th out of 81 countries with data for 2018.
- Is informal employment rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is up 19.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Kingdom data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Informal employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series is based on the 13th ICLS definitions. For time series comparability, it includes countries that have implemented the 19th ICLS standards, for which data are also available in the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database. This harmonized series for informal employment is derived using the same set of criteria across countries to improve comparability. The criteria used are based on employment status, institutional sector, destination of production, bookkeeping, registration, social security contribution, places of work and size. Data disaggregated by occupation are provided according to the latest version of the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO). Data may have been regrouped from the national classifications, which may not be strictly compatible with ISCO. For more information, refer to the Labour Force Statistics (LFS and STLFS) database description.