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Work and welfare overview

Work is recognised by economists, governments and policy makers as a key component of successful economies. Good quality employment provides a means for individuals to gain social and economic opportunities and to contribute constructively to society. The links between health and unemployment are well recognised. The WHO (World Health Organisation) report The Solid Facts – Social Determinants of Health (2003) noted that "unemployment puts health at risk" and goes on to underline that "unemployed people and their families suffer a substantially increased risk of premature death" and that "the health effects of unemployment are linked to both its psychological consequences and financial problems, especially debt".

Work and welfare infographic Apr 25

Click here to download the Work and welfare infographic.

Employment

  • Glasgow has more jobs than residents and the city's rate of jobs per resident is higher than any other local authority in the Glasgow City Region.
  • 71% of working-age Glaswegians were employed in 2023, which was 2 percentage points lower than in Scotland as a whole.
  • In Glasgow in 2023, 57% of people with a disability were in employment, which was 21 percentage points lower than the the employment rate for non-disabled people in the city.
  • 55% of adults from an ethnic minority group in Glasgow were employed in 2022, which was 21 percentage points lower than the employment rate for those not from an ethnic minority in the city.
  • Underemployment in Glasgow (reflecting the number of employees who want/need to work more) had fallen from 15% in 2013 to 9% in 2020.

Economic inactivity, worklessness and unemployment

  • 26% of the working-age population in Glasgow was economically inactive in 2023, which is slightly higher than the Scottish average.
  • The International Labour Organisation (ILO) unemployment rate for Glasgow increased from 6.5% in 2007/08 to 12% in 2011/12, but has since decreased and had dropped to 4.4% in 2021/22.
  • In 2021, 24% of households in Glasgow had no adults in paid employment. This figure is the highest rate among Scottish and UK cities.

This section (2003) currently includes indicators of incapacity and workless benefits, economic inactivity, employment, unemployment and underemployment. The NOMIS website provides official government statistics for a much wider range of economic indicators. The Glasgow City Region's intelligence hub provides a wide range of analysis and commentaries relating to the economy of the region.

The data on the Understanding Glasgow website comes from a variety of administrative sources and surveys, and the frequency of updates to these sources varies. The graphs and text on each page should indicate the period to which an indicator refers. In some cases, where more recently published data is not available, we still use older published sources, such as the 2011 Census. 

Notes

1. Many of the trends described above have been strongly influenced by the global financial crisis (which began in 2007-2008) as well as by recent welfare policy changes.  

2. The employment figures in this section relate only to people in paid employment. Similarly, the figures on workless households relate to households where no adult is in paid employment.

3. The sub-section on Benefit statistics has been removed due to changes in the administration of benefits, including the devolution and creation of some new benefits administered by Social Security Scotland. These changes make it difficult to provide accurate up-to-date comparisons of benefit rates and have also created a discontinuity with previous published trends.

This page was updated in February 2025.