Occupation categories for those in in-work poverty (2021/22)
This indicator looks at the occupation categories for people in in-work poverty in London and the rest of England. Of everybody experiencing working poverty, more worked in elementary occupations than any other job, with 19% of people in in-work poverty in London categorised in this way. Elementary occupations consist of simple and routine tasks which mainly require the use of hand-held tools and often some physical effort. This group made up the same proportion (19%) in the rest of England.
The next largest occupation category for Londoners experiencing in-work poverty is associate professional & technical occupations where we find 17% of those in poverty, compared to 8% in the rest of England. This group consists of technical science, public services, and health and social care associate professionals. More details can be found here.
The picture is very different for those working but not counted as being in poverty in London where 30% are working in professional occupations (by far the most common occupation type for this group), and only 6% are classed as working in elementary occupations.
Please note Social Occupation Classification 2020 (SOC 2020) was introduced to the Family Resources Survey for the 2021/22 wave. Compared to SOC 2010 at the major grouping level there are minor decreases in employees classified in groups 1 and 3 and increases in group 2 for males and females. See here for more details. In our analysis we have combined survey waves and therefore also combined SOC 2010 and SOC 2020.