The number of persons not in the labour force in Q2 2024 was 1,484,600 which was up 1.3% or 19,500 from a year earlier. See Table 7.1.
Persons aged 15 years or over are classified as not being in the Labour Force (Inactive) if they do not satisfy the ILO criteria for being classified as Employed or Unemployed – see Background Notes.
The Potential Additional Labour Force (PALF) is the sum of the two groups ‘Seeking work but not immediately available’ and ‘Available for work but not seeking work’. Persons in the PALF are not part of the standard labour force, which encompasses only Employed and Unemployed people, but they have a stronger attachment to the labour market than other persons not in the labour force.
The Potential Additional Labour Force for Q2 2024 was 122,700, which was made up of 98,900 persons 'Available but not seeking work' and 23,800 persons 'Seeking but not immediately available for work'. The total PALF of 122,700 is up from 100,100 in Q2 2023 and 85,800 in Q2 2022. See Table 7.1.
| Q2 2022 | Q2 2023 | Q2 2024 | |
| Available for work but not seeking work | 67500 | 78600 | 98900 |
| Seeking work but not immediately available | 18300 | 21500 | 23800 |
Of those who stated that they wanted to work but were not seeking work or available for work in Q2 2024, 35.2% said this was due to education or training. This compares to 28.7% a year earlier and 23.7% in Q2 2022. Persons not seeking work due to own illness or disability accounted for 28.6% of the total in Q2 2024, down from 32.6% in Q2 2023 and down from 35.4% in Q2 2022.
| Q2 2021 | Q2 2022 | Q2 2023 | Q2 2024 | |
| Other reasons | 21.4 | 13.3 | 11.8 | 12.5 |
| Care responsibilities/personal family reasons | 26.6 | 27.6 | 26.9 | 23.7 |
| Own illness or disability | 28.3 | 35.4 | 32.6 | 28.6 |
| Education or training | 23.7 | 23.7 | 28.7 | 35.2 |
Additional data on Potential Labour Supply with explanatory notes are available in QLF30.
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