1911 UK census employment status codes

[NoBinturongsHereMate]

Is there a list of these anywhere? I can find plenty of info on the occupation codes, but not for the employment status one.

Do you mean column 12 on the 1911 census? As far as I'm aware there were only three choices: employer, worker or own account.

Own account was a person who self employed but not an employer.

That column, but I've got a 'worker 4' rather than just 'worker'. I wondered if if might mean '1 of 4' employed in the business'.

His wife is down as 'own account' but should probably be 'employer', as her husband (& possibly others) is working for her.

You've prompted me to have a look, I haven't thought about this before.

There seems to be a lot more to it than appears at first glance.

Employer seems to be coded as 2.

Own account is coded as 6

Own account at home is coded as 3 or 7 (but 3 may be employer at home where the employees are also living there)

Apprentice is coded as 8

Worker at home is sometimes coded as 5 and sometimes as 1. I think the difference may be connected to the differences between 4 and 0.

Worker is coded as either 4 or 0

It appears that whether a worker is 4 or 0 seems to depend on what industry they work in (although it isn't always consistent, it appears mistakes were sometimes made in the coding).

So, all jobs that were connected with domestic service or cleaning were coded as 0. So, this would be cook, housemaid, gardener, char woman etc

Code 0 was also used for jobs like solicitors, teachers (and other education employees), vicars (and priests, nuns, monks etc), police officers, post office workers and firemen.

There was a training school for girls where the Sisters in charge ("Sister of Mercy") were code 0 and the matrons (referred to as "Industrial Home Matron") were code 4

But it was also used for specific industries as well. All coal miners and others working in the coal industry were code 0 as were people who worked for railway companies.

(As an example, I have relatives on the same census form, one worked in a factory making railway wagons and the other worked for a railway company that used those wagons. The person who made the railway wagons was coded 4 and the person who worked for the railway company was coded 0)

Farm labourers were all coded 0 (not the actual farmer who would be either an employer or own account).

Dock workers were code 0

Then there were some odd ones. Those with an occupation of general labourer with a code of 330 were also coded 0

I also found people working in millers and flour/seed merchants (occupation code 923, 924) who were also coded as 0.
.

I'm sure that there will be more examples as well that I haven't come across.

It would be really interesting to find out if there is a definitive list somewhere of which occupations were coded 0.

That's a baffling set of groupings. I can't see the logic of the categories at all.

If it's any use, my 'worker 4' is a garment cutter, ladies clothing.

Is this any use?

https://www.findmypast.co.uk/articles/1911-census-occupation-codes

Some codes are weirdly specific whilst others are whole groups.

These can also be useful:

https://www.lostcousins.com/pages/help/Mastering_the_1911_Census_of_England_&_Wales.htm

https://www.familyheritagesearch.co.uk/2013/02/1911-census-codes/

Like you, I was confused by some of the codes on old census returns but there are quite a few pages on hobby sites and genealogy sites set up for these now - at least for 1901, 1911 and 1921. Earlier than that is more of a challenge. I’ve also found it odd how some codes are “over written” in coloured ink (as described in the third link).

Those are the previous column - occupation codes are well documented. It's the employment column 12 that Cats mentioned that's giving me the problem.

Another record, same census, has now turned up an 'employer 2'.

Yes, that is what I found as well (in the post above).

It seems that employer is coded as 2 unless they are working from home in which case it is 3.

The enumerated entries were restricted to the three Cats mentions. If you mean the blue “0”s and “4”s, often with vertical lines through multiple entries I believe these were just local clerk markings and notations rather than formal enumerator information. Or at least that is what I was told when I asked about it in the past!
Its confusing because some of the red/blue overmarks are conversions to formal codes used by the enumerators up the line and others are simply local markings.

If they have any other enumerator meaning I’ve no idea what it is but I’ve come across this very question quite a few times on forums, always ending at the same point.

Just to add to the first post, there are a number of other occupations such as accountants, civil servants, council employees etc that are also Code 0.

As well as code 330 general labourers there are also builder's labourers (732) and bricklayer's labourers (230) that come up with code 0 as well, so it seems to be all labourers.

When I suggested code 923/924, looking back at it now it seems that it is actually commercial clerks (050) that are code 0

I'm not too sure if it is just a local issue. I looked at censuses from Nottinghamshire, Gloucestershire and Cambridgeshire. In all three areas, people who worked for railway companies and everyone who worked in some sort of domestic service were coded as 0.

The only thing I did see is that in some areas, anyone who worked for the rail company was coded as 0 but in other areas it appears to only be people involved with the actual running of the trains eg engine cleaners and platelayers were coded as 0 but other occupations (such as plumbers or sign writers) employed by the rail company were coded as 4.

Apprentices were coded as 8

Employers and those working on their own account were coded as I mentioned above.

Police officers, solicitors, teachers etc were all coded as 0

These same codes were used in three very different areas in 1911 so I don't think that they are just local usages.