You asked
I am trying to find out the percentage of women of employable age who were employed in the UK in the following years (or the closest year for which the information is available):
1935
1945
1950
1970
1980
2000
2015
We said
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request asking for information on the percentage of women of employable age who were employed in the UK in the following years: 1935, 1945, 1950, 1970, 1980, 2000 and 2015.
Seasonally adjusted female employment rates for women aged 16 to 64 from 1971 onwards are published on our website at:
This information is sourced from the Labour Force Survey (LFS).
The LFS started in 1971 with earlier labour market statistics sourced from the Census. Historical data on female activity rates can be found in a publication called “British Labour Statistics Historical Abstract 1886-1968”.
Table 109 in this publication shows that the activity rate for all females in 1931 and 1951 were 34.2% and 34.7% respectively. Due to the Second World War there were no estimates for 1941.
Please note that activity rate is a slightly different concept from employment rate as both employed and unemployed people are defined as economically active.