People are classed as economically active if they are either in employment or unemployed and seeking work. This group excludes those who want a job but who have not been seeking work in the last four weeks, those who want a job and are seeking work but not available to start and those who do not want a job. For example, students not working or seeking work and those in retirement are not counted as economically active. The data used for this indicator is taken from the Annual Population Survey (APS). The APS was introduced in January 2004 and it has replaced the Annual Local Area Labour Force Survey. The APS combines results from the Labour Force Survey ( LFS) and the English, Welsh and Scottish Labour Force Survey boosts. The boosts increase the sample size which means the APS can provide more robust labour market estimates for local areas compared to the main LFS. Thus the APS is the primary source for information on local labour markets providing headline estimates on employment, unemployment and economic activity. The APS is the largest annual household survey in Scotland and provides a wealth of information about individuals' personal circumstances and their work. The LFS surveys individuals living at private households in the UK and is designed to be representative of the national population. The Scottish Government funds the boost to the LFS sample in Scotland, taking the sample size from approximately 8,000 households for the each year to 23,000 households.
Note relating to Q1 2020 estimates onwards: Annual Population Survey (APS) responses for periods April 2019-March 2020 to January-December 2020 were reweighted on 18 August 2021 to new populations derived using growth rates from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Real Time Information (RTI), to allow for different trends during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The reweighting gives improved estimates of both rates and levels. This weighting methodology has also been used for subsequent time periods. Further information on the reweighting process and its impact on labour market statistics can be found in an [ONS article](https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/articles/impactofreweightingonlabourforcesurveykeyindicatorsuk/2020).
Where the estimate is unreliable (i.e. the group sample size is 3-9 or the estimate is less than 500) or the group sample size is zero or disclosive (0-2), the data has been removed.
Economic activity level and rate by gender
Statistics from the APS are presented in reports and spreadsheets available on the [Scottish Goverment's website](https://www.gov.scot/collections/labour-market-statistics/).
This dataset does not contain any sensitive or personal information.
Note that this data is not seasonally adjusted and comparisons should only be made with the same quarter across years. The Scottish Government publishes reports which present [analysis on the labour market at Scotland and sub-Scotland levels](https://www.gov.scot/collections/labour-market-statistics/).
Details on the [methodology and quality assurance of Annual Population Survey data](https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/methodologies/annualpopulationsurveyapsqmi) can be found on the ONS website.
The Annual Population Survey (APS) combines results from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the English, Welsh and Scottish Labour Force Survey boosts increasing the sample size in Scotland, which means the APS can provide more robust labour market estimates compared to the main Labour Force Survey, for local areas and smaller groups of the population..
Economic Activity, Benefits and Tax Credits