The occupations in which women worked changed significantly between 1896 and 2018. The service workers category, which dominated employment in 1896, included domestic service, then the commonest job done by women. The relatively high percentage of professional women that year was bolstered by women teachers. The influx of women into clerical work over time is clear – the fall in numbers in 2006 is balanced by the rise in the administrative category in the same year.

The data on which the chart is based are drawn from the census. As the categories used changed over time, it is trends that are shown here.