Great Britain Historical Database : Census Data : Occupational Statistics, 1841-1991

<P>Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.</P><p>The <span style="font-style: italic;">Great Britain Historical Database</span> has been assembled as part of the ongoing Great Britain Historical GIS Project. The project aims to trace the emergence of the north-south divide in Britain and to provide a synoptic view of the human geography of Britain at sub-county scales. Further information about the project is available on <a href="https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/gbhdb/" target="_blank">A Vision of Britain</a> webpages, where users can browse the database's documentation system online.</p><br><p>
<p>These data were originally collected by the Censuses of Population for England and Wales, and for Scotland. They were computerised by the Great Britain Historical GIS Project and its collaborators.&nbsp;</p>
<span>The census has gathered data on "occupations", meaning individuals' roles in the workplace, since the first household enumeration in 1841, and this collection includes most of the published results. However, how the results were classified varied greatly: for 1841, there is simply an alphabetical list of individual occupations, in 1851 the most basic classification was into workers in animal, vegetable and minerals, and so on. Further, the more detailed the occupational classification used, space considerations tended to require a less detailed geography; or, sometimes, the use of an abridged classification for small towns and rural areas; or even different tables and classifications for men and for women. There are consequently multiple datasets for some years.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Latest edition information</span></p><p><span>For the second edition (October 2022), the data and documentation have been revised.<br></span><p></p>
</p><br><B>Main Topics</B>:<BR><br>Occupations, meaning self-described roles in the workplace, tabulated by gender using a variety of occupational classifications. Note that the early classifications often mingle notions of social status. From 1931 onwards these tables also include counts of the unemployed.<br>
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Please note: this study does not include information on named individuals and would therefore not be useful for personal family history research.<br>
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