FOI reference: FOI-2024-2468
You asked
I am emailing to request data on the following issues:
European and non-European migrants working in UK textile and apparel manufacturing sectors, from 1945 to 2024. If possible, I would also like information relating to the nationalities of migrants, as well as a breakdown of representation by gender, in this sectors.
We said
Thank you for your query regarding migrants working in UK textile and apparel manufacturing sectors.
The ONS collects information on the labour market, through the Labour Force Survey, which is based on interviews with people resident in UK households. This information includes workers' country of birth, nationality, gender and industry.
Although we publish estimates of the number of people in employment in different industries, and the number of people in employment by country of birth and nationality, we do not produce regular outputs that combine these two factors.
It would be possible to produce estimates of the number of people employed in a particular industry, based on country of birth or nationality over time. However, please note, it is likely that such detailed estimates would be of poor quality.
You can request a tailored analysis by contacting our social survey team socialsurveys@ons.gov.uk. Please note, there may be a charge for this service, depending on the time taken to develop the analysis and undertake quality and disclosure control processes.
Census 2021 also collected population data of England and Wales, by country of birth, passports held, and information on job sector. While this source provides the best picture of society at a moment in time, we acknowledge there is a need for more timely and frequent statistics at a consistent level of quality. Provisional estimates for the year ending June 2022, produced by rolling forward Census 2021 estimates and accounting for population change, were published in International migration research, progress update: November 2022.
Data showing occupation of migrants is available from Census 2021 Migration and the labour market, England and Wales: Census 2021. This data provides information on differing labour market participation between migrant populations and non-migrants, and considers the type of occupations and industries in which they work.
There is no exact equivalent dataset available from earlier censuses, but we do have tables showing country of birth and/or nationality by occupation. Each census year will have different levels of detail for these variables, depending on what was asked at the time. The broad picture of population change can be followed from census to census, but as each census has evolved to reflect and keep up with changes in society, direct comparison does not necessarily provide a good source of information about detailed change over time. Changes in the questions asked, in the categories used to present results, in the terminology and in geographical boundaries, mean that each census primarily provides a 'cross sectional' picture of the country at the time.
Please note, the UK censuses are run separately by each National Statistics Office: Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) for Northern Ireland; National Records of Scotland (NRS) for Scotland; and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for both England and Wales.
Northern Ireland's census was taken in 2021 and you can access the data here https://www.nisra.gov.uk/statistics/2021-census/results.
Scotland's census was moved to 2022. Publication of unrounded estimates began in May 2024. Please see their website for information https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/about/2022-census/census-outputs-schedule/.
Contact details for NRS and NISRA are provided below:
National Records of Scotland
Tel: 0131 3144299
Email: statisticscustomerservices@nrscotland.gov.uk
Website: www.nrscotland.gov.uk
Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency
Tel: 02890 255156
Email: census@nisra.gov.uk
Website: http://www.nisra.gov.uk/census
Occupation data for England and Wales 1951-2011
Please see the associated download to view census information we hold on this topic from previous years.
Please note, there was no census in 1941 due to the second world war, so data on occupation for the period 1945-2024 is provided from 1951. As the census is usually taken every ten years, the most recent data available is from 2021 (or 2022 in Scotland), rather than 2024.
1951 Census
Table 26 - Occupations of persons resident in but born outside England and Wales distinguishing British Subjects or Commonwealth Citizens and Citizens of the Irish Republic by Country of birth and Aliens by Nationality. (pages 602-613).
Table 27 - Occupations of persons resident in but born outside England and Wales distinguishing British Subjects or Commonwealth Citizens and Citizens of the Irish Republic and Aliens (or Stateless). (pages 614-619).
Source: 1951 Census of England and Wales Topic Reports, Occupation Tables.
1961 Census
Table 30 - Residents Born outside England and Wales, Occupation by Country of Birth or Nationality (pages 206-209).
Table 31 - Residents Born Outside England and Wales, Occupation by whether Born in the United Kingdom and whether Commonwealth Citizen or Alien (pages 210-221).
Source: 1961 Census of England and Wales Topic Reports, Occupation Tables.
Please note, for Census 1961, two different forms were distributed, and some questions were only asked of 10% of the population. The occupation data in the above tables needs to be multiplied by 10 to give a representative estimate of the figures for the population as a whole. Please see the notes from the introduction to the Occupation Tables volume (pages xv - xix) for more information.
1971 Census
Table 18A - Persons in employment born outside UK; industry by status, occupation & sex.
Source: Census 1971 of Great Britain, Topic Reports. Country of Birth Supplementary Tables (10% sample) - Part 2 - Migration and Economic Activity.
The following tables are provided as Excel files. There were no standard outputs that cross referenced Country of birth by Occupation, but we did publish some ad hoc commissioned outputs.
1981 Census
Previously commissioned table:
C0737_81 - Sex by country of birth by occupation major groups - 1981 Census 10% sample.
1991 Census
Previously commissioned table:
C0737_91 - Sex by country of birth by occupation major groups - 1991 Census 10% sample.
2001 Census
Previously commissioned table:
C1401 - Sex by occupation (4 digits) by country of birth.
2011 Census
Previously commissioned table:
CT0077 - Occupation by year of arrival in the UK by country of birth (national)
You may also be interested in the analysis undertaken by the Migration Observatory https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/migrants-in-the-uk-labour-market-an-overview/, who work closely with both ONS and the Home Office.