Men are more likely than women to have a spell of unemployment, but can expect to remain unemployed for a shorter period of time, according to an article by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

On average, men are 3.2 percentage points more likely than women either to be unemployed when they join the Labour Force Survey, a quarterly sample survey of households living at private addresses in Great Britain, or to become so at some point while they are in the sample.

Other groups that have an above-average chance of a spell of unemployment include:

· those who work in elementary occupations – such as labourers, waiters and cleaners – who are 7.8 percentage points more likely to have a spell of unemployment than those in professional occupations

· ethnic minorities, who are 4.6 percentage points more likely to have a spell of unemployment than non-minority people

· 18 to 24-year-olds, who are 4.5 percentage points more likely to have a spell of unemployment than 35 to 49-years-olds

· local authority or housing association tenants, who are 3.4 percentage points more likely to have a spell of unemployment than those
who rent privately

· those women who have dependent children, who are 2.2 percentage points more likely to have a spell of unemployment than women with no
dependent children.

In addition, those who have been unemployed for between seven and 12 months are 17.7 percentage points less likely to be re-employed than those who have only been unemployed for six months or less, according to the ONS article.