Economic Estimates: Employment and Earnings in the Digital Sector, January 2023 to December 2023
Official Statistics used to provide an estimate of the contribution of the Digital Sector to the UK economy, measured by employment and employee earnings.
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Details
Revision note: 6 December 2024
Following the identification of a minor error, the Economic Estimates: Employment in the Digital Sector, January 2023 to December 2023 data tables have been corrected and republished.
Headline findings
Employment
- These estimates suggest that there was limited growth in employment in the Digital Sector (which includes the Telecommunications Sector) between 2022 and 2023 (0.3%). This was the smallest annual increase in filled jobs in the Digital Sector in the last decade, with growth in employment in the Digital Sector gradually slowing down since 2020. By comparison, employment in the UK overall increased by 0.8% between 2022 and 2023.
- While there was a decrease in employment in the Telecommunications Sector between 2022 and 2023 (-2.7%), employment in this sector was still relatively high compared to levels seen over the last decade, having peaked in 2021.
- The Digital Sector accounted for a similar proportion of the UK’s filled jobs in both 2022 and 2023, contributing to approximately 5.6% of UK employment overall in both 2022 and 2023. The Telecommunications Sector accounted for a slightly lower proportion of the Digital Sector’s filled jobs in 2023 than in 2022, decreasing from 10.0% to 9.7%.
- Between 2022 and 2023, employment in the ‘Publishing (excluding translation and interpretation activities)’ subsector had the highest growth, increasing by 12.0%, while employment in the ‘Repair of computers and communication equipment’ subsector reduced the most, decreasing by 21.5%.
- In 2023, the proportions of filled jobs held by women (29.1%) and disabled people (13.7%) in the Digital Sector were smaller than the proportions of filled jobs held by these groups in the UK overall (47.9% and 17.0%, respectively).
- In 2023, the proportion of filled jobs held by individuals with degree level (or equivalent) education in the Digital Sector (63.8%) was larger than the proportion of filled jobs held by this group in the UK overall (43.6%).
Earnings
The Earnings statistics in this release have not yet been accredited as Official Statistics and are classified as Official Statistics in Development. For more information on these classifications, please visit the OSR website.
- These estimates suggest that median gross hourly pay in the Digital Sector (£22.82) and Telecommunications Sector (£21.63) remained around 50% higher than in the UK overall (£15.18) in 2023, similar to the trends in 2022.
- Estimated median gross hourly pay in the Digital Sector increased slightly in cash terms (i.e. without accounting for inflation) between 2022 to 2023 from £22.57 to £22.82.
- Estimated median gross hourly pay in the Telecommunications Sector increased in cash terms (i.e. without accounting for inflation) between 2022 to 2023 from £18.82 to £21.63.
- In 2023, men working in the Digital Sector had a 17.8% higher median gross hourly pay (£23.79) than women (£20.20).
Released
11 July 2024
About this release
Since the publication of our most recent employment statistics, the ONS has carried out analysis to assess the impact of falling sample sizes on the quality of Annual Population Survey (APS) estimates. Due to the ongoing challenges with response rates, response levels and weighting, the accreditation of ONS statistics based on the Annual Population Survey (APS) was temporarily suspended on 9 October 2024. Because of the increased volatility of both Labour Force Survey (LFS) and APS estimates, the ONS advises that estimates produced using these datasets should be treated with additional caution.
ONS statistics based on both the APS and LFS will be considered Official Statistics in Development until further review. We are reviewing the quality of our estimates and will update users about the accreditation of DSIT Digital Sector Economic Estimates for Employment if this changes.
This is a continuation of the Economic Estimates: Employment and Earnings in the Digital Sector series, previously produced by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). Responsibility for Digital and Telecommunications policy now sits with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).
Employment estimates within this release are Accredited Official Statistics, used to provide an estimate of the number of filled jobs in the Digital Sector, for the period January 2023 to December 2023.
Earnings estimates within this release are Official Statistics in Development, used to provide an estimate of the median gross hourly pay (£GBP) of those employed in the Digital Sector, for the period January 2023 to December 2023.
This current release contains new figures for January 2023 to December 2023, and updated figures for January 2022 to December 2022 for the Earnings estimates. This release also includes previously released estimates for January 2022 to December 2022, produced by DCMS, as the baseline comparison in the associated report.
It should be noted that while Telecommunications is considered a sector in its own right, it is also entirely included within the Digital Sector as one of the subsectors, as defined by Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes. Aggregates based on the Digital Sector, therefore, include data from the Telecommunications Sector.
Data sources and technical information
These findings are calculated based on the published Office for National Statistics (ONS) Annual Population Survey (APS).
Employment
The APS provides data on an individual level for both a respondent’s first job, and if applicable, a respondent’s second job as separate variables. Respondents are included in analysis if they are categorised as “in work”. This includes all instances where a respondent is categorised as an “employee” or “self-employed” for either their first or, if applicable, their second job.
As we estimate employment as the number of filled jobs, we restructure the data to be on a per job basis, rather than a per respondent basis. We then select entries that are relevant for a particular measure or demographic breakdown and aggregate over the associated population weights to generate an estimate of the total filled jobs (e.g. filled jobs in the total Digital Sector).
Users should note that values presented in this dataset are self-reported, which may impact the accuracy of the reported data. There can also be low sample sizes in some of the subsectors and demographic breakdowns leading to the data not being presented due to data suppression from disclosure risk. The APS gives access to more detailed demographic information than other comparable datasets allowing for more comprehensive analysis of demographic breakdowns.
Earnings
Estimates are calculated by selecting entries that are relevant for a particular measure or demographic breakdown. Reported values are then aggregated over their respective income weights to produce a median (middle, or 50th percentile) value for each grouping (e.g. median hourly pay in the total Digital Sector).
Users should note that values presented in this dataset are self-reported, which may impact the accuracy of the reported data, with some values reported potentially being below minimum wage. There can also be low sample sizes due to not all respondents being asked the earnings question due to question routing with the earnings data not being available for the self-employed. However, the APS gives access to more detailed demographic information not available in comparable datasets allowing for more comprehensive demographic breakdowns.
The technical guidance contains further information about data sources, methodology, and the validation and accuracy of these estimates. The latest version of this guidance was published alongside this release on 11 July 2024.
Content
These statistics cover the employment (filled jobs) and median gross hourly pay of those working in the Digital Sector and its subsectors alongside the UK overall.
Proportional differences provided within the demographic breakdowns of the associated statistical report are calculated based on those who answered the relevant question relating to the breakdown (e.g. the proportion of women working in the Digital Sector would be calculated by dividing the number of women by the sum of the number of women and men and then multiplying by 100).
Users should note that the Telecommunications Sector sits wholly within the Digital Sector.
Feedback
We aim to continuously improve the quality of estimates and better meet user needs. We welcome feedback on this release. Feedback should be sent via email to [email protected].
Office for Statistics Regulation
The Employment estimates within this release are Accredited Official Statistics and have been independently reviewed and regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics. Accredited Official Statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. The accreditation of these statistics was last confirmed in June 2019 by the OSR. For more detailed information on the accreditation of these statistics, please see the OSR website.
Accreditation signifies their compliance with the authority’s Code of Practice for Statistics which broadly means these statistics are:
- Managed impartially and objectively in the public interest.
- Meet identified user needs.
- Produced according to sound methods.
- Well explained and readily accessible.
The Earnings estimates are a newer series of Official Statistics in Development that are produced to the standards of the Code of Practice for Statistics but have not yet been accredited as Official Statistics. The Earnings estimates produced from the APS are still being evaluated in regard to their usefulness due to the limitations of the APS as a data source for this analysis.
Our wider statistical practice is also regulated by the OSR. OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.
You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards.
Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing [email protected] or via the OSR website.
Pre-release access
The accompanying pre-release access document lists ministers and officials who have received privileged early access to this release. In line with best practice, the list has been kept to a minimum and those given access for briefing purposes had a maximum of 24 hours.
Contact
Responsible statistician: Rory Attwell
For any queries or feedback, please contact [email protected].
Updates to this page
Published 11 July 2024Last updated 17 December 2024 + show all updates
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A link has been added to the DSIT response to the recent Digital Sector Economic Estimates consultation.
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The Employment data tables have been republished following the identification and correction of a minor error.
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A note on the changes in the accreditation of the Annual Population Survey and the subsequent impact on Digital Sector Employment statistics has been added.
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A link to the DSIT Digital Sector Economic Estimates Consultation has been added to the Economic Estimates: Employment in the Digital Sector, January 2023 to December 2023 HTML report.
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First published.