Employment

Unpaid care

About this topic

Unpaid care records whether people aged 15 years and over spent time providing unpaid help or assistance to someone because of disability, long-term illness, or problems related to old age. It captures informal care provided by family members or others in the community.

This topic is useful for understanding the demand placed on informal carers and the likely need for support services, respite, and home-based assistance. It does not measure the intensity or duration of care, so it should be read alongside need for assistance and other health and ageing indicators.

Interpretation notes

  • This records whether a person aged 15 years and over provided unpaid help or assistance in the previous two weeks because of disability, long-term illness, or old age.
  • It identifies whether care was provided, not the intensity, frequency, or number of hours of care.

Key insight

In 2021, not providing unpaid care was the most common response among residents aged 15 and over in Blyth, accounting for 81.1% (340 people). This share was higher than Wakefield (DC) (79.4%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in not providing unpaid care, which increased by 340 people and 81.1 percentage points.

Section overview

Unpaid care

Blyth - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)

This table summarises unpaid care for Blyth in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Wakefield (DC) and change since 2016.

Unpaid care snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Blyth, with comparison markers for Wakefield (DC).

Blyth
Wakefield (DC)

Total Provided Unpaid Assistance

2021 count

57

% of total

13.6%

Change from 2016

+13.6pp

Total No Unpaid Assistance Provided

2021 count

340

% of total

81.1%

Change from 2016

+81.1pp

Total Unpaid Assistance Not Stated

2021 count

26

% of total

6.2%

Change from 2016

+6.2pp

Data table

Unpaid care for Blyth. Unpaid care. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Wakefield (DC).

Unpaid care for Blyth. Unpaid care. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Wakefield (DC).
Unpaid care for Blyth. Unpaid care. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Wakefield (DC).
Category20212016Change
Count%Wakefield (DC)%Count%Wakefield (DC)%Countpp
Total Provided Unpaid Assistance5713.6%13.9%00.0%13.1%+57+13.6pp
Total No Unpaid Assistance Provided34081.1%79.4%00.0%77.5%+340+81.1pp
Total Unpaid Assistance Not Stated266.2%6.5%00.0%9.3%+26+6.2pp
Total419100.0%100.0%00.0%100.0%+419+100.0pp