Xinhua, London :
About 863,000 workers, or 2.9 percent of the workforce of the Britain, worked on Christmas Day in 2012, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The figure was slightly down from that of 2008, when 3 percent of the Britain’s workforce, or 887,000 people, were working, the ONS said on Christmas eve.
With 136,000 people working on Christmas Day, care workers top the list of festive workers, followed by nurses with 77,000, nursing auxiliaries with 43,000, chefs and cooks with 33,000, security guards with 31,000 and police officers with 21,000, the ONS figures showed.
Senior and junior care workers, nurses and nursing auxiliaries combined made up almost a third, or 32 percent, of those working on Christmas Day, noted the ONS.
The occupation with the highest proportion of its workforce working was “not surprisingly” clergy, of whom 49 percent said they worked on that day. Other groups with high proportions working included communication operators with 28 percent, paramedics with 25 percent, prison service officers with 25 percent and farm workers with 20 percent, the ONS data show.
Nick Palmer, statistician at the ONS, said in a press release that the figures show “the huge contribution to our welfare made by groups such as health and emergency service workers”.
Meanwhile, the proportion of workers at work on Christmas Day in 2012 varied across the country: the highest proportion was recorded in the North East, where 3.6 percent of the local workforce went to work, followed by Scotland with 3.4 percent. The lowest proportion working that day was in London with 2.1 percent, followed by the West Midlands with 2.2 percent, figures showed.
About 863,000 workers, or 2.9 percent of the workforce of the Britain, worked on Christmas Day in 2012, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The figure was slightly down from that of 2008, when 3 percent of the Britain’s workforce, or 887,000 people, were working, the ONS said on Christmas eve.
With 136,000 people working on Christmas Day, care workers top the list of festive workers, followed by nurses with 77,000, nursing auxiliaries with 43,000, chefs and cooks with 33,000, security guards with 31,000 and police officers with 21,000, the ONS figures showed.
Senior and junior care workers, nurses and nursing auxiliaries combined made up almost a third, or 32 percent, of those working on Christmas Day, noted the ONS.
The occupation with the highest proportion of its workforce working was “not surprisingly” clergy, of whom 49 percent said they worked on that day. Other groups with high proportions working included communication operators with 28 percent, paramedics with 25 percent, prison service officers with 25 percent and farm workers with 20 percent, the ONS data show.
Nick Palmer, statistician at the ONS, said in a press release that the figures show “the huge contribution to our welfare made by groups such as health and emergency service workers”.
Meanwhile, the proportion of workers at work on Christmas Day in 2012 varied across the country: the highest proportion was recorded in the North East, where 3.6 percent of the local workforce went to work, followed by Scotland with 3.4 percent. The lowest proportion working that day was in London with 2.1 percent, followed by the West Midlands with 2.2 percent, figures showed.
