Employment & Income
Income and employment are, along with education, key factors of population health. Most adults spend much of their time working, this means jobs and workplaces can have a big impact on health and wellbeing. Good work can protect working-age adults against physical and mental health problems and reduce the risk of premature mortality (ScotPho, 2023).
‘Good work’ is defined as having a safe and secure job with good working hours and conditions, supportive management and opportunities for training and development (Public Health England, 2023). Paid employment can help reduce poverty but is not a guaranteed route out of poverty: around 30% of those moving into employment remain in poverty (Office for National Statistics, 2023).
Working population
The economically active population in Midlothian was 48,200 which was 80.3% of the total working age population in 2022/23 (Office for National Statistics, 2023). This is higher than in Scotland, 77.4%.
2.2% (1,100 of people) of the total working age population were unemployed. This was lower than in Scotland (3.2%).
11,200 people were classed as economically inactive in 2022/23 (Office for National Statistics, 2023). 29.2% were inactive due to long-term sickness, this figure has been relatively consistent over the past ten years. There has been an increasing trend in the proportion of people who are retired - from 17.6% in 2012/13 to 25.6% in 2022/23.
Earnings
Workers in Midlothian (by place of residence) consistently earn less than the Scottish median earnings per week. Midlothian full-time employed residents in 2022 earned on average £622.90 per week (Office for National Statistics, 2023). This compares to the Scottish equivalent of £640.30, (a gap of £17.40, previously £38.20 in 2020) and UK of £642.20. Female full-time workers in Midlothian (by place of residence) earned on averages £16.50 less per week than the overall Midlothian full time employee average figure in 2022, £49.90 less in 2020 and £31.10 less in 2019 (Office for National Statistics, 2023).
Employment
The public sector is the biggest local employer Midlothian Council with over 4,000 employees (Midlothian Profile, 2022 PDF) and NHS Lothian with over 700 employees in the Midlothian Health and Social Care Partnership (Midlothian HSCP Workforce Plan, 2022.PDF) The Edinburgh City region also supports a large number of jobs for commuters from Midlothian (Midlothian Profile, 2022 PDF).
In Midlothian, both the past being involved in mining, and more recently sedentary office work brings different health effects on the labour market. More Midlothian residents were employed in professional and associate professional occupations than in any other sectors in 2022/23, accounting for 41.6% of economically active residents (Office for National Statistics, 2023). This is similar to the national proportion (41.4%). The proportion of people who work in caring, leisure and other service occupations was higher in Midlothian compared to Scotland (12.3% compared to 8.6%). (Office for National Statistics, 2023).
Between 2019 and 2022, there was an increase in the number of Midlothian residents in employee jobs (excludes self-employed, government-supported trainees, HM Forces and farm-based agriculture) from 31,000 to 33,000, 11,000 (33%) of whom work part-time (Office for National Statistics, 2023). The most prevalent employee jobs by industry were:
- wholesale and Retail Trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (18.2%),
- education (12.1%),
- human health and social work activities (10.6%),
- construction (10.2%).
The proportion of people working in construction is close to double that of the national figure (5.7%).
Benefits
In December 2022, there were 5,200 people claiming out-of-work benefits, this represents 9.4% of the resident population aged 16-64, an increase of 5% since 2021 (Office for National Statistics, 2023). The proportion of people claiming out-of-work benefit is higher in Scotland at 10.2% but lower in the UK at 8.4%. This is the highest proportion of claims since the 1990s.
Universal Credit replaces the following benefits into one monthly payment (or twice a month in Scotland if selected): Child Tax Credit, Housing Benefit, Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Income-based Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) & Working Tax Credits. Most claimants are now on Universal Credit, although transfers are still occurring and are triggered by a change of circumstances.
As of October 2023, there were 1,275 (2.2%) people claiming Universal Credit in Midlothian as a proportion of resident population of area aged 16-64. This compares to 3% in Scotland. There were more male (2.6%) Universal Credit Claimants than female (1.8%), this is consistent with the Scottish trend (Office for National Statistics, 2023).
In Scotland from August 2022 Adult Disability Payment became the benefit for people under State Pension age who have a long-term illness or disability. This replaces Personal Independence Payment which was gradually replacing Disability Living Allowance. Data is not yet available on the number of people in receipt of Adult Disability Payment (Social Security Scotland, 2023). Prior to the introduction of Adult Disability Payment 5,069 people were receipt of Personal Independence Payment and 2,372 people were in receipt of active Disability Living Allowance payments (Department of Work and Pensions, 2021).
Page updated: June 2024