Economic activity rate

Economic activity measures whether or not a person is an active participant in the labour market – and includes both those employed and those out-of-work but actively seeking work.  In the Jan-Dec 2020 twelve-month period (the most recent data), 

• 76.9 per cent of the 16-64 population in the North East LEP area was economically active  
• this was below the England and England excluding London rates but was the joint fourth highest among the eight core city LEPs
• the North East rate had increased by 1.9 percentage points since 2014
• this was lower than the percentage point increase across England and the joint second lowest among the core city LEP areas
• the North East rate was 1.4 percentage points higher than in the same period a year earlier, a larger increase than nationally

Within the North East, among local authority areas the economic activity rate ranged from 72.2 per cent in South Tyneside to 81.1 per cent in North Tyneside. Among constituencies, the rate was highest in North Tyneside (a different, smaller area than the local authority of the same name). The rate was lowest in the Washington and Sunderland West constituency. The rates are based on the resident population and cover a twelve-month period about a quarter of which was before the economy was affected by Covid-19.