Data Catalogue Information Packs

Definition: How do we define Employment and Skills?

Employment

Employment is defined as “working for at least one hour a week for some payment, either for a wage or for profit, or commission, or without pay in a family business” (Gov UK, 2025). The employment rate is defined as the rate which “measures the proportion of the working-age population in employment. A rising employment rate indicates economic growth.

Skills

Employability skills are defined as “the foundational skills, personal qualities, and attitudes which enable individuals to succeed in the workplace and advance in their careers” (Institute for Employment Studies, 2025). Education and skills are often interlinked and include factors such as apprenticeships, GCSE’s and further education, providing individuals with the ‘hard skills’ which are often recorded in the data, whereas soft skills (such as personality) are often not recorded in datasets.

Key contact within Coventry City Council

If you are wanting to know more information about employment and skills, have any specific questions about the accessible data, or are keen to research employment and skills, please contact:

Glen Smailes. E: glen.smailes@coventry.gov.uk

Alex Dickson. E: alex.dickson@coventry.gov.uk

Why is ‘Employment and Skills’ a wider determinant of health?

Employment and skills are wider determinants of health because good jobs provide income, security, purpose, and social connection, while poor work or unemployment leads to stress, poverty, and unhealthy coping, directly impacting mental and physical health. Skills influence job quality, and overall work conditions shape well-being, creating a cycle where good work improves health and good health enables work.

They are key drivers of health inequalities, as variations in these factors determine an individual's access to the "building blocks" of a healthy life.

How employment affects health

• Income & Resources: Employment provides money for better nutrition, housing, and healthcare, improving living standards and reducing material deprivation.
• Purpose & Social Connection: Work offers a sense of identity, purpose, routine, and social interaction, boosting mental health and reducing isolation.
• Stress & Mental Health: Unemployment is a major stressor, linked to anxiety, depression, and lower self-esteem, while stressful, demanding jobs also harm mental health.
• Physical Health: Good jobs offer protection from hazards, while job insecurity and poverty can lead to unhealthy behaviours (smoking, poor diet) and increased risk of chronic conditions.

How skills influence health

• Job Quality: Higher skills often lead to better-paying jobs with more control, job security, and better working conditions, promoting better health.
• Labour Market Position: Education and skills determine one's place in the labour market, influencing income, housing, and overall health outcomes (the "social gradient").
• Resilience: Higher qualifications can make it easier to stay employed or find new work if health declines, buffering against negative health impacts.

The Bidirectional “Virtuous Circle”

• Two-Way Relationship: Good health is necessary to gain and retain employment, while stable employment actively supports health.
• Economic Impact: Research continues to emphasise that failing health in the working-age population reduces productivity and increases welfare costs, while inclusive recruitment can help "level up" deprived communities.

Key literature signposting

Belloni, M., Carrino, L., & Meschi, E. (2022). The impact of working conditions on mental health: Novel evidence from the UK. Labour Economics, 76.

Burgard, S. A., & Lin, K. Y. (2014). Bad jobs, bad health? How work and working conditions contribute to health disparities. American Journal of Health Science, 57.

City of Hackney Council. (2026). Wider Determinants of Health: Employment and Income.

Creative Health Toolkit (2026). Wider Determinants of Health: Employment.

Hergenrather, K. C., Zeglin, R. J., McGuire-Kuletz, M., & Rhodes, S. D. (2015). Employment as a social determinants of health: A systematic review of longitudinal studies exploring the relationship between employment status and physical health. Rehabilitation Research Policy and Education, 29.

Lai, H., Due, C., & Ziersch, A. (2022). The relationship between employment and health for people from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds: A systematic review of quantitative studies. SSM – Population Health, 18, e101075.

NHS Employers. (2022). Tackling Health Inequalities through Inclusive Recruitment.

Peckham, T., Fujishiro, K., Hajat, A., Flaherty, B. P., & Seixas, N. (2019). Evaluating employment quality as a determinant of health in a changing labour market. The Russell Safe Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, 5, 258-281.

Public Health England. (2018). Chapter 6: Wider Determinants of Health.

The Health Foundation (2024). Relationship between Employment and Health.

The Health Foundation (2026). Wider Determinants of Health: Work.

Woodall, J., Coan, S., & Stanley, M. (2023). Reducing health inequalities through skills training, support, and removing barriers to employment. Health Education Journal, 82.

Publicly accessible data on 

Employment and Skills

1. Office for National Statistics (ONS) https://www.ons.gov.uk/explore-local-statistics/

Office for National Statistics (ONS) is an accessible platform which is funded by the UK government through the Open Government Licence. Within this platform, individuals are able to explore local statistics, exploring how a local area compares to the Great Britain average. Data is presented in graphs which are interactive, allowing for individuals to examine how their local area (Coventry) compares to the GB average, and other local authorities. The ONS platform provides data for a wide range of topics including economy (includes employment) and education and skills.                  

Economy (Employment)
For all graphs available, individuals can see the local area, as it currently stands (with data being up to date for each year), as well as a time-trend analysis on the right-hand side of the graphs for each section. This allows for identification of how the local area has changed over the past 20-years on each topic. When selecting the ‘chart options’, individuals are able to alter the year range which they would like to focus upon.

This allows for more focussed time trend analysis to examine how a particular factor has changed within a local area. For employment, the ONS platform has the following factors available for the economy:

• Employment
  • Economic inactivity rate
  • Employment rate
  • Modelled unemployment rate
  • Claimant count
• Pay and income
  • Gross disposable household income
  • Gross median weekly pay
• Productivity
  • Gross value added per hour worked
  • Gross domestic product per head at current market prices
  • Gross domestic product per head in chained volume measures
• Business
  • Active businesses
  • Business births
  • Business deaths
  • High growth businesses.

This wide range of data available for local areas and the inclusion of GB averages allows for the employment and economic status of an area to be examined.

Education and Skills

As with employment, for education and skills, within the ONS platform all graphs which are available individuals can see the local area, as it currently stands (with data being up to date for each year), as well as a time-trend analysis on the right-hand side of the graphs for each section. This allows for identification of how the local area has changed over the past 20-years on each topic. When selecting the ‘chart options’, individuals are able to alter the year range which they would like to focus upon.

For education and skills, the ONS platform has the following factors available for the economy:

• Attainment and participation
  • Further education and skills participation
  • GCSE’s in English and maths
  • Level 3 or above qualifications
  • Pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at the end of key stage 2
  • No qualifications
• Apprenticeships
  • Apprenticeship achievements
  • Apprenticeship starts

2. LG Inform  https://lginform.local.gov.uk/

LG Inform (Local Government Inform), is an accessible platform which is funded by the UK government. The LG Inform platform was introduced as a practical solution to ensure that local governments and organisations could access data which will help influence decision making and policy, with the addition of being a free platform which members of the public can also use.

LG Inform has a range of accessible data on business and employment. There are 1256 reports and/or datasets for individuals to access, which can be presented in a report, or access to the raw data is also accessible for individuals. Reports are themed into:

• Business grants (32 reports)
• Business rates (57 reports)
• Careers and employment (825 reports)
• Health and safety at work (8 reports)
• Trading standards (8 reports)

For each specific data set, individuals can click on either ‘view report’ or ‘view data’ which provides specific data for specific locations (such as Coventry), providing direct comparison to other local authority locations or cities within the UK. Data can be presented as either a table, graph, or interactive map.

2a. LG Inform Plus - https://home.esd.org.uk/

Please note: LG Inform Plus requires a licence and is therefore only accessible for Coventry City Council Colleagues via registering for an account.

LG Inform Plus provides the same foundation content as LG Inform but allows for individuals to look at data through specific wards and transform data into charts, maps, and tables. For example, for employment, data can be created into a detailed themed report, which is modifiable by:

• Data metric
• Date period
• Location
• Comparison group

Whilst using LG Inform Plus, individuals are able to search for data on employment specifically. This provides 2097 results including information on topics such as:

• Number of economically inactive
• Employment status
• Employment indicator
• Female employment
• Male employment and many more!

Whilst using LG Inform Plus, individuals can generate reports which are only visible to them on a particular topic. For example, for Employment and Skills, a report can be generated adding in a map of the local area, bar graphs of data on employment, and break data down by ward. Once an individual has added all in data relevant to their chosen topic, the personalised report can be downloaded as PDF and shared. The report function allows for specific data to be shared in an accessible way on a particular topic, with graphs generated in the report being interactive for the reader to highlight any key areas of interest or statistics.

3. NOMIS https://www.nomisweb.co.uk

NOMIS is an accessible online platform which is developed by the Office for National Statistics. NOMIS does not require individuals to have a licence, meaning that all data is accessible. When using NOMIS, individuals are able to explore area profiles, and explore a specific location in relation to a range of factors including:

• Resident population
• Employment and unemployment
• Economic activity
• Workless households
• Employment by occupation
• Qualifications
• Earnings by place of residence
• Out of work benefits
• Jobs (total jobs / employee jobs)
• Businesses

All data is provided in tables and includes the specific number along with the percentage for the area chosen. If selecting Coventry, within the table there is comparison to the West Midlands (comparison of percentages) and Great Britain. 

When exploring the data, individuals are able to select ‘compare other areas’ allowing for comparison of number and percentage data to be compared for a specific topic. This is particularly useful if individuals are wanting to work with individuals from another local authority area or collaborate on research to demonstrate the need for research or work on the topics in those areas.

Individuals are also able to view a time-series of the data. The data in NOMIS goes back to 2004, allowing for individuals to explore how the data on employment has changed in the area over the past 21 years. Data going back to 2004 is presented both within an interactive graph (time-trend analysis) and as a table which provides numerical and percentage data.

4. Coventry City Council https://www.coventry.gov.uk/facts-coventry/economy-business

Coventry City Council also have their own accessible data platform on ‘Economy and Employment’ in Coventry. The platform includes information on Coventry Labour market profile, skills which employers are seeking in the local are (ward) for residents in Coventry.

The PowerBI dashboard also includes data on:

• Employment rate
• Enterprises in Coventry
• Percentage of individuals claiming unemployment benefits
• Percentage of 16+ year olds employed claimants
• Median gross annual pay of employees by residence
• Number of workless households with dependent children

Data presented within the PowerBI graphs is presented over a range of years, with some datasets going back to 2005. This allows for individuals to explore the changes in employment over the years in Coventry.

5. Plumplot https://www.plumplot.co.uk/Coventry-salary-and-unemployment.html

Plumplot is an open accessible platform which provides information on a range of topics such as area insights, population, income/unemployment, home features, crimes and many more. Data is presented in a range of manners including interactive mapping, graphs and tables, allowing individuals to explore numerical data as well as see the data presented in graphs which is effective for presentations.

Individuals are able to explore specific areas using the ‘area insights’ option. For employment in Coventry, Plumplot provides information on 5 topic areas relating to employment.

Data presented compares Coventry to the closest local areas as well as the United Kingdom statistic. This allows for direct comparison, potentially allowing for individuals to highlight any successes or challenges for employment in Coventry. Data also goes back to 1999 for all line graphs, allowing for a time-trend analysis and identification of whether employment in Coventry (and any comparator areas) has improved or decreased.