Introduction Although the first national census was compiled in 1801, people were not really asked for information about their occupations until the census of 1841. Census returns were compiled place by place and can therefore provide an outline of which type of jobs were important to the local economy. However, there are specific problems for local historians who wish to use the census. The problems of 'multiple occupations' (where people have several different jobs) is of course a major problem. It is also thought that the census omits to provide many women with their respective occupations. For the record:
The census returns for 1801, 1811, 1821 and 1831 have not been preserved but local population totals which make some differentiation in terms of trade or occupation (for these and later years) can be found published in Parliamentary Papers. From 1841 the enumerators' returns have been kept. Enumerators' were the individuals responsible for the distribution of census forms to each household in their designated area prior to census night. The enumerator would later collect the forms and copy them into the enumerators books. These books provide personal information and include an entry for occupation. This information becomes more sophisticated in following censuses. The census returns from 1841 to 1891 are heavily used records, so much so that they would long ago have crumbled into dust had they not been microfilmed. The 1901 census is available on the Internet at www.1901censusonline.com. Useful links
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Introduction
Working lives
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