Census 2021: Industry
Industry from the 2021 Census
The raw data from this Census release has been processed by the Population Insight Team and is also available on Surrey-i.
As stressed by the Office for National Statistics: ‘Census 2021 took place during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, a period of unparalleled and rapid change; the national lockdown, associated guidance and furlough measures will have affected the labour market topic.’ Therefore, caution should be applied when using these figures for planning and policy purposes.
The Office for National Statistics classified people aged 16 years and over who were in employment between 15 March and 21 March 2021 by the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code that represents their current industry or business. The SIC code is assigned based on the information provided about a firm or organisation’s main activity.
In Surrey, 589,529 residents were in employment the week before the 2021 Census Day (60.6% of all usual residents aged 16 and over).
The industries with the highest numbers of employees who were residents of Surrey were:
- education (10.4%),
- constructions of buildings, civil engineering, and specialised construction activities (8.4%),
- and retail trade, expect of motor vehicles and motorcycles (7.9%).
The top 20 industries with the most employees who resided in Surrey at the time of the 2021 Census
| Percentage (%) | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| Education | 10.4% | 61,206 |
| Construction of buildings; Civil engineering; Specialised construction activities | 8.4% | 49,539 |
| Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 7.9% | 46,835 |
| Human health activities | 7.7% | 45,550 |
| Public administration and defence; compulsory social security | 5.3% | 31,415 |
| Computer programming, consultancy and related activities | 5.3% | 31,186 |
| Social work activities without accommodation | 3.6% | 21,281 |
| Food and beverage service activities | 3.4% | 19,921 |
| Services to buildings and landscape activities | 2.9% | 16,817 |
| Legal and accounting activities | 2.8% | 16,483 |
| Financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding | 2.3% | 13,730 |
| Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 2.0% | 12,000 |
| Activities auxiliary to financial services and insurance activities | 2.0% | 11,778 |
| Real estate activities | 1.9% | 11,352 |
| Land transport and transport via pipelines | 1.8% | 10,805 |
| Architectural and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis | 1.8% | 10,559 |
| Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities | 1.8% | 10,499 |
| Insurance, reinsurance and pension funding, except compulsory social security | 1.6% | 9,403 |
| Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities | 1.6% | 9,333 |
| Other personal service activities | 1.5% | 9,060 |
The top three industries with the most Surrey residents as a whole (Education; Construction of buildings, Civil engineering, and Specialised construction activities; and Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles) were also often the top three (or four) industries of the individual districts and boroughs in Surrey.
The table below shows the top ten industries for each of the districts and boroughs in Surrey for the 2021 Census.
The top 10 industries with the most employees who resided in Surrey Districts and Boroughs at the time of the 2021 Census
| Surrey | Elmbridge | Epsom and Ewell | Guildford | Mole Valley | Reigate and Banstead | Runnymede | Spelthorne | Surrey Heath | Tandridge | Waverley | Woking | South East | England | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Education | 10.4% | 10.6% | 10.9% | 11.4% | 10.7% | 9.6% | 10.4% | 9.0% | 9.0% | 10.7% | 12.3% | 9.2% | 10.2% | 9.9% |
| Construction of buildings; Civil engineering; Specialised construction activities | 8.4% | 6.6% | 8.7% | 7.7% | 9.6% | 9.4% | 8.5% | 8.9% | 8.0% | 11.3% | 7.8% | 7.2% | 9.0% | 8.7% |
| Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 7.9% | 7.4% | 8.0% | 8.1% | 7.3% | 7.3% | 8.9% | 8.4% | 8.6% | 7.6% | 7.5% | 8.8% | 9.4% | 10.3% |
| Human health activities | 7.7% | 6.0% | 9.7% | 8.8% | 6.9% | 9.7% | 7.7% | 6.2% | 9.5% | 6.4% | 6.5% | 7.2% | 8.3% | 8.9% |
| Public administration and defence; compulsory social security | 5.3% | 4.0% | 5.5% | 6.8% | 5.0% | 5.3% | 4.7% | 5.4% | 6.0% | 5.8% | 4.8% | 5.3% | 5.9% | 5.8% |
| Computer programming, consultancy and related activities | 5.3% | 5.8% | 4.6% | 5.8% | 4.6% | 4.2% | 5.3% | 5.4% | 6.5% | 3.6% | 5.7% | 6.5% | 4.1% | 2.9% |
| Social work activities without accommodation | 3.6% | 3.3% | 4.1% | 3.5% | 4.0% | 4.0% | 3.3% | 3.5% | 3.2% | 3.7% | 3.6% | 3.5% | 4.0% | 4.2% |
| Food and beverage service activities | 3.4% | 3.3% | 3.1% | 3.8% | 3.2% | 3.2% | 3.8% | 3.6% | 3.4% | 2.9% | 3.2% | 3.4% | 3.8% | 4.1% |
| Services to buildings and landscape activities | 2.9% | 2.8% | 3.7% | 2.8% | 2.7% | 3.6% | 3.4% | 2.9% | 2.6% | |||||
| Legal and accounting activities | 2.8% | 3.8% | 3.0% | 3.1% | 2.7% | 2.9% | 3.6% | 3.0% | ||||||
| Financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding | 4.0% | 3.1% | 2.9% | |||||||||||
| Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 2.3% | 2.3% | 2.5% | 2.8% | ||||||||||
| Activities auxiliary to financial services and insurance activities | 2.7% | |||||||||||||
| Land transport and transport via pipelines | 3.2% | |||||||||||||
| Insurance, reinsurance and pension funding, except compulsory social security | 2.7% | |||||||||||||
| Warehousing and support activities for transportation | 4.0% |