Economy & Employment
Reading - Economy - UTLA
This report is available for the following features:
Reading - Economy - UTLA - Reading
ReadingMany factors play a part in the success of a local economy, including natural resources, a workforce with skills, quality of infrastructure, strong linkages with wider economies and successful distribution of wealth. This report displays data about the labour market in Reading and includes measures of overall economic activity and levels of worklessness.
Economically active| Reading
The Annual Population Survey (APS) is a combined survey of households in Great Britain. Its purpose is to provide information on key social and socioeconomic variables between the 10-yearly censuses, with particular emphasis on providing information relating to sub-regional (local authority) areas.
Employment rate

Reading | South East | England | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Count | % | Count | % | Count | % | |
Males aged 16-64 | 49,800 | 87.1 | 2,274,400 | 81.9 | 13,836,800 | 79.5 |
Females aged 16-64 | 41,100 | 76.4 | 2,129,100 | 75.9 | 12,670,700 | 72.4 |
All persons aged 16-64 | 90,900 | 81.9 | 4,403,500 | 78.9 | 26,507,500 | 76 |
Full-time and part-time employment

Reading | South East | England | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Count | % | Count | % | Count | % | |
Persons aged 16-64 in full-time employment | 74,100 | 81.5 | 3,307,000 | 75.1 | 20,091,900 | 75.8 |
Persons aged 16-64 in part-time employment | 16,400 | 18.1 | 1,092,100 | 24.8 | 6,379,100 | 24.1 |
Employees and self employed

Reading | South East | England | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Count | % | Count | % | Count | % | |
Persons aged 16-64 who are employees | 80,400 | 72.4 | 3,758,800 | 67.3 | 22,733,800 | 65.1 |
Persons aged 16-64 who are self employed | 10,400 | 9.4 | 627,600 | 11.2 | 3,687,000 | 10.6 |
Public and private sector employment

Reading | South East | England | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Count | % | Count | % | Count | % | |
Persons employed in public sector as % of all persons in employment | 16,400 | 17.7 | 942,800 | 20.5 | 5,979,300 | 21.7 |
Persons employed in private sector as % of all persons in employment | 76,400 | 82.3 | 3,658,200 | 79.5 | 21,521,200 | 78.3 |
Number of weekly hours worked

Reading | South East | England | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Count | % | Count | % | Count | % | |
Persons in employment who work under 10 hours | 3,100 | 3.4 | 161,700 | 3.6 | 840,600 | 3.1 |
Persons in employment who work 10-34 hours | 18,700 | 20.1 | 1,227,800 | 27.2 | 7,206,500 | 26.7 |
Persons employment who work 35-44 hours | 52,900 | 57.1 | 2,120,400 | 46.9 | 12,930,100 | 48 |
Persons employment who work 45 hours or more | 18,100 | 19.5 | 1,009,200 | 22.3 | 5,969,200 | 22.2 |
Occupation type

Reading | South East | England | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Count | % | Count | % | Count | % | |
1: managers, directors and senior officials | 8,200 | 8.8 | 601,500 | 13 | 3,269,800 | 11.8 |
2: professional occupations | 27,100 | 28.9 | 1,084,600 | 23.5 | 6,196,200 | 22.4 |
3: associate prof & tech occupations | 18,900 | 20.2 | 761,500 | 16.5 | 4,237,400 | 15.3 |
4: administrative and secretarial occupations | 7,800 | 8.3 | 473,100 | 10.3 | 2,753,600 | 10 |
5: skilled trades occupations | 8,200 | 8.8 | 415,100 | 9 | 2,606,500 | 9.4 |
6: caring, leisure and other service occupations | 5,500 | 5.9 | 410,200 | 8.9 | 2,439,200 | 8.8 |
7: sales and customer service occupations | 5,300 | 5.7 | 290,900 | 6.3 | 1,848,500 | 6.7 |
8: process, plant and machine operatives | 3,100 | 3.3 | 193,100 | 4.2 | 1,534,100 | 5.6 |
9: elementary occupations | 9,300 | 9.9 | 370,700 | 8 | 2,647,500 | 9.6 |
Business counts| Reading
The information shown below is produced from an extract taken from the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) recording the position of businesses as at 10 March 2018. Here, the term “business” is used to represent an enterprise. An enterprise can be defined as the smallest combination of legal units (generally based on VAT and/or PAYE records) that is an organisational unit producing goods or services, which benefits from a certain degree of autonomy in decision-making, especially for the allocation of its current resources.
Businesses by employment size

Reading | South East | England | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Count | % | Count | % | Count | % | |
Large (250+) | 50 | 0.7 | 1,620 | 0.4 | 9,460 | 0.4 |
Medium-sized (50 to 249) | 150 | 2.1 | 6,020 | 1.4 | 36,885 | 1.5 |
Small (10 to 49) | 585 | 8.2 | 33,150 | 7.9 | 200,445 | 8.4 |
Micro (0 to 9) | 6,305 | 88.9 | 377,580 | 90.3 | 2,144,180 | 89.7 |
Total | 7,090 | 100 | 418,370 | 100 | 2,390,970 | 100 |
Businesses by industry

Reading | South East | England | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Count | % | Count | % | Count | % | |
1 : Agriculture, forestry & fishing (A) | 10 | .2 | 11,785 | 2.8 | 99,425 | 4.2 |
2 : Mining, quarrying & utilities (B,D and E) | 15 | .2 | 1,780 | .4 | 12,065 | .5 |
3 : Manufacturing (C) | 220 | 3.1 | 18,705 | 4.5 | 117,890 | 4.9 |
4 : Construction (F) | 645 | 9.1 | 57,980 | 13.9 | 306,255 | 12.8 |
5 : Motor trades (Part G) | 180 | 2.5 | 11,155 | 2.7 | 65,915 | 2.8 |
6 : Wholesale (Part G) | 205 | 2.9 | 14,470 | 3.5 | 89,940 | 3.8 |
7 : Retail (Part G) | 410 | 5.8 | 31,050 | 7.4 | 181,235 | 7.6 |
8 : Transport & storage (inc postal) (H) | 375 | 5.3 | 14,910 | 3.6 | 109,550 | 4.6 |
9 : Accommodation & food services (I) | 315 | 4.5 | 19,780 | 4.7 | 134,155 | 5.6 |
10 : Information & communication (J) | 1,510 | 21.3 | 45,685 | 10.9 | 208,550 | 8.7 |
11 : Financial & insurance (K) | 150 | 2.1 | 8,560 | 2 | 55,635 | 2.3 |
12 : Property (L) | 205 | 2.9 | 14,250 | 3.4 | 91,175 | 3.8 |
13 : Professional, scientific & technical (M) | 1,375 | 19.4 | 81,095 | 19.4 | 418,630 | 17.5 |
14 : Business administration & support services (N) | 665 | 9.4 | 36,995 | 8.8 | 211,430 | 8.8 |
15 : Public administration & defence (O) | 5 | 1,250 | .3 | 7,035 | .3 | |
16 : Education (P) | 125 | 1.8 | 7,685 | 1.8 | 40,915 | 1.7 |
17 : Health (Q) | 280 | 4 | 14,865 | 3.6 | 89,605 | 3.7 |
18 : Arts, entertainment, recreation & other services (R,S,T and U) | 395 | 5.5 | 26,370 | 6.3 | 151,565 | 6.3 |
Business survival rate

Reading | South East | England | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Count | % | Count | % | Count | % | |
Businesses formed in year that survived one year | 970 | 89 | 47,245 | 90 | 294,870 | 89 |
Businesses formed in year that survived two years | 770 | 71 | 37,805 | 73 | 231,145 | 69 |
Businesses formed in year that survived three years | 690 | 55 | 32,355 | 58 | 192,450 | 52 |
Businesses formed in year that survived four years | 625 | 47 | 27,455 | 49 | 157,945 | 46 |
Businesses formed in year that survived five years | 535 | 46 | 23,400 | 46 | 132,975 | 42 |
Gross value added| Reading
Gross value added (GVA) is a measure of the increase in the value of the economy due to the production of goods and services. It is measured at current basic prices, which include the effect of inflation, excluding taxes (less subsidies) on products (for example, Value Added Tax). GVA plus taxes (less subsidies) on products is equivalent to gross domestic product (GDP).
GVA by broad industry group

Reading | South East | England | |
---|---|---|---|
ABDE: Agriculture, mining, electricity, gas, water and waste (£m) | 639 | 9,906 | 49,337 |
C: Manufacturing (£m) | 192 | 20,489 | 150,124 |
F: Construction (£m) | 193 | 18,287 | 97,082 |
G: Wholesale and Retail Trade (£m) | 518 | 33,149 | 161,262 |
H: Transportation and Storage (£m) | 166 | 10,930 | 67,699 |
I: Accommodation and Food Service (£m) | 142 | 7,438 | 45,998 |
J: Information and Communication (£m) | 1,749 | 22,895 | 108,223 |
K: Financial and Insurance (£m) | 133 | 12,064 | 114,781 |
L: Real Estate (£m) | 608 | 40,002 | 217,081 |
M: Professional, Scientific, Technical (£m) | 961 | 21,287 | 125,114 |
N: Administrative and Support Services (£m) | 288 | 12,756 | 78,704 |
O: Public Administration and Defence (£m) | 288 | 9,780 | 64,359 |
P: Education (£m) | 201 | 16,061 | 90,392 |
Q: Health and Social Work (£m) | 475 | 16,612 | 106,825 |
R: Arts, Entertainment, Other Recreation (£m) | 96 | 3,536 | 23,032 |
S: Other Services (£m) | 111 | 6,383 | 33,609 |
T: Households (£m) | 25 | 1,412 | 6,015 |
Total GVA - Production (A-E) (£m) | 831 | 30,402 | 199,121 |
Total GVA - Services (G-T) (£m) | 5,760 | 214,304 | 1,243,096 |
Total GVA (£m) | 6,784 | 262,993 | 1,539,298 |
GVA per head (£) | 41,600 | 28,961 | 27,676 |
Apprenticeships| Reading
Apprenticeships are paid jobs that incorporate on-and off-the-job training leading to nationally recognised qualifications. As an employee, apprentices earn as they learn and gain practical skills in the workplace. Apprenticeships achieved refers to the number of apprenticeships successfully completed. As for starts, a person who completes/achieves more than one apprenticeship in a given time period will be counted for each completion. Apprenticeships are assigned to a geographic area based on the home postcode of the learner.
Apprenticeships achieved/completed

Reading | South East | England | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Count | % | Count | % | Count | % | |
Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care | 0 | 0 | 350 | 1.7 | 2,590 | 1.8 |
Arts, Media and Publishing | 0 | 0 | 70 | 0.3 | 500 | 0.3 |
Business, Administration and Law | 70 | 20.6 | 5,440 | 26 | 41,630 | 28.6 |
Construction, Planning and the Built Environment | 10 | 2.9 | 1,240 | 5.9 | 9,390 | 6.4 |
Education and Training | 10 | 2.9 | 510 | 2.4 | 3,680 | 2.5 |
Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies | 30 | 8.8 | 3,980 | 19.1 | 25,680 | 17.6 |
Health, Public Services and Care | 110 | 32.4 | 5,030 | 24.1 | 34,120 | 23.4 |
Information and Communication Technology | 50 | 14.7 | 1,640 | 7.9 | 9,190 | 6.3 |
Languages, Literature and Culture | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Leisure, Travel and Tourism | 20 | 5.9 | 500 | 2.4 | 3,210 | 2.2 |
Preparation for Life and Work | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Retail and Commercial Enterprise | 30 | 8.8 | 2,130 | 10.2 | 15,690 | 10.8 |
Science and Mathematics | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 | 50 | 0 |
Resident salaries| Reading
The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) is conducted in April each year to obtain information about the levels, distribution and make-up of earnings and hours worked for employees. This data set provides information about earnings of employees who are living in an area, who are on adult rates and whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence. ASHE is based on a sample of employee jobs taken from HM Revenue & Customs PAYE records. Information on earnings and hours is obtained in confidence from employers. ASHE does not cover the self-employed nor does it cover employees not paid during the reference period.
Median annual resident salaries for 2020

Reading | South East | England | |
---|---|---|---|
Median - Annual pay - Female Full Time Workers (£) | 31,030 | 29,182 | 28,090 |
Median - Annual pay - Female Part Time Workers (£) | 10,345 | 11,460 | 11,232 |
Median - Annual pay - Female Total (£) | 22,484 | 21,400 | 20,512 |
Median - Annual pay - Male Full Time Workers (£) | 33,821 | 37,751 | 34,325 |
Median - Annual pay - Male Part Time Workers (£) | N/A | 10,891 | 10,920 |
Median - Annual pay - Male Total (£) | 31,942 | 34,996 | 31,813 |
Median - Annual pay - Full Time Workers (£) | 32,878 | 34,219 | 31,766 |
Median - Annual pay - All Workers (£) | 27,992 | 27,888 | 26,055 |
Change in median annual resident salaries for Reading


Economically inactive| Reading
Unemployment rate

Reading | South East | England | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Count | % | Count | % | Count | % | |
Males | 1,000 | 2.1 | 96,900 | 4.1 | 689,900 | 4.7 |
Females | 2,000 | 4.6 | 77,800 | 3.5 | 521,000 | 3.9 |
Total | 3,100 | 3.2 | 174,700 | 3.8 | 1,210,800 | 4.4 |
Economic inactivity by reason

Reading | South East | England | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Count | % | Count | % | Count | % | |
Student | 5,000 | 29.2 | 279,200 | 27.8 | 1,928,200 | 26.9 |
Looking after family/home | 3,300 | 19.4 | 201,900 | 20.1 | 1,545,200 | 21.5 |
Temporary sick | 500 | 3.1 | 14,600 | 1.4 | 133,700 | 1.9 |
Long-term sick | 2,700 | 15.8 | 202,200 | 20.1 | 1,653,000 | 23 |
Discouraged | 600 | 3.8 | 5,200 | 0.5 | 38,000 | 0.5 |
Retired | 2,900 | 17.1 | 171,500 | 17.1 | 955,100 | 13.3 |
Other | 2,000 | 11.7 | 130,900 | 13 | 923,100 | 12.9 |
Disability (Equality Act) core level

Reading | South East | England | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Count | % | Count | % | Count | % | |
EA core or work-limiting disabled | 18,200 | 16.4 | 1,101,700 | 19.7 | 7,259,100 | 20.8 |
EA core disabled | 17,300 | 15.6 | 1,033,100 | 18.5 | 6,831,200 | 19.6 |
Work-limiting disabled | 7,600 | 6.8 | 553,400 | 9.9 | 3,813,200 | 10.9 |
Claimant counts| Reading
This section shows claimant counts - the stock of Universal Credit and Job Seekers Allowance claimants - for persons aged 16 and over in Reading.
Monthly claimant counts

Reading | South East | England | |
---|---|---|---|
2019-02 | 2,615 | 94,020 | 875,840 |
2019-03 | 2,625 | 96,645 | 900,650 |
2019-04 | 2,655 | 98,185 | 915,240 |
2019-05 | 2,675 | 99,125 | 922,775 |
2019-06 | 2,765 | 101,855 | 942,115 |
2019-07 | 2,800 | 103,020 | 949,770 |
2019-08 | 2,850 | 104,990 | 965,275 |
2019-09 | 2,865 | 106,795 | 969,255 |
2019-10 | 2,935 | 110,160 | 987,540 |
2019-11 | 2,925 | 112,035 | 998,185 |
2019-12 | 2,925 | 113,260 | 1,003,150 |
2020-01 | 2,930 | 115,330 | 1,014,875 |
2020-02 | 3,005 | 119,620 | 1,050,875 |
2020-03 | 3,050 | 120,930 | 1,063,505 |
2020-04 | 4,610 | 219,285 | 1,764,725 |
2020-05 | 6,745 | 300,540 | 2,264,855 |
2020-06 | 6,700 | 284,595 | 2,200,615 |
2020-07 | 6,795 | 292,815 | 2,241,155 |
2020-08 | 6,945 | 300,975 | 2,282,005 |
2020-09 | 6,915 | 298,050 | 2,262,510 |
2020-10 | 6,650 | 285,145 | 2,188,335 |
2020-11 | 6,800 | 289,985 | 2,225,600 |
2020-12 | 6,825 | 288,820 | 2,216,785 |
2021-01 | 6,865 | 286,545 | 2,200,965 |
Monthly claimant rate

Reading | South East | England | |
---|---|---|---|
2019-02 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 2.5 |
2019-03 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 2.6 |
2019-04 | 2.5 | 1.7 | 2.6 |
2019-05 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 2.6 |
2019-06 | 2.6 | 1.8 | 2.7 |
2019-07 | 2.6 | 1.8 | 2.7 |
2019-08 | 2.6 | 1.9 | 2.7 |
2019-09 | 2.7 | 1.9 | 2.8 |
2019-10 | 2.7 | 2 | 2.8 |
2019-11 | 2.7 | 2 | 2.8 |
2019-12 | 2.7 | 2 | 2.9 |
2020-01 | 2.7 | 2.1 | 2.9 |
2020-02 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 3 |
2020-03 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 3 |
2020-04 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 5 |
2020-05 | 6.3 | 5.3 | 6.4 |
2020-06 | 6.2 | 5.1 | 6.3 |
2020-07 | 6.3 | 5.2 | 6.4 |
2020-08 | 6.4 | 5.4 | 6.5 |
2020-09 | 6.4 | 5.3 | 6.4 |
2020-10 | 6.2 | 5.1 | 6.2 |
2020-11 | 6.3 | 5.2 | 6.3 |
2020-12 | 6.3 | 5.1 | 6.3 |
2021-01 | 6.4 | 5.1 | 6.3 |