New report estimates 84,908 people work in social care in Wales

There are an estimated 84,908 people working in social care in Wales according to our latest report on the make-up of the workforce.

This figure represents a small increase compared to the previous year.

We collected data for the Social care workforce report with the help of local authorities and commissioned providers between October and December 2025.

This annual report gives us a picture of the size and characteristics of the social care workforce in Wales.

It includes data such as the age, gender and ethnicity of the workforce, as well as things like how many hours they work, what kind of contract they’re on and whether they need a visa.

This is the fifth time we’ve collected data about the entire workforce as a single exercise. For this report, we asked providers for data about the workforce as it was on 31 March 2025.

Summary of findings

Our workforce data collection found that:

an estimated 84,908 people were employed in the social care workforce in Wales in 2025 – up 2.2 per cent compared to 2024
women continue to make up the majority of the workforce (80.8 per cent) – a consistent pattern since the workforce data collection began
care workers remain the largest job group, although their share of the workforce (50.7 per cent) has continued to decrease
over half of local authority workers are 46 or older, while the commissioned services workforce is younger, with over 60 per cent being 45 or under
the ethnic diversity of the social care workforce continues to increase, with the proportion of workers identifying as black, Asian or mixed ethnicity (11.9 per cent) having risen steadily since 2022
permanent contracts continue to dominate, particularly in commissioned services, although some settings rely on casual and temporary contracts (32.6 per cent of all residential care workers in local authorities are on a temporary or casual contract)
there are 6,103 vacancies across the sector in 2025, an increase of 757 compared to 2024, while the number of vacancies being held (vacancies that aren’t actively being recruited for) has almost tripled
domiciliary care accounts for around half of all vacancies in the sector
6.7 per cent of the workforce require a visa to work in the UK, an increase from 5.3 per cent in 2024
reported sickness absence fell substantially, from 302,673 days in 2024 to 249,070 days in 2025, and reversed the increase seen in 2024.

Read the report

Social care workforce report 2025
DOCX 3MB

Why the data we collect is important

The data we collect for this report is the only data collected on the entire social care workforce in Wales. Because of this, lots of different people and organisations use the report to inform their work. These include:

Welsh and UK governments
the Association of Directors of Social Services (ADSS) Cymru and local authorities
regulators such as Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) and Social Care Wales
care providers
researchers
the media
members of the public.

Making sure we have the highest quality data to understand the social care workforce in Wales is incredibly important. Without good quality data, we can’t truly understand the shape and size of social care in Wales.

It also helps us get a better idea of where the demand for care is, in which types of provision, and to plan effectively for the future.

Good quality data enables us to make better decisions, based on evidence. This means we can help to deliver better care and support for people in Wales and provide better support for the hardworking staff who deliver it.

Changes to how we collect the data

We recently completed the first edition of our new combined data collection with Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW).

We and CIW brought together our two annual data collections into a single shared process for 2026, which means social care providers now only have to collect and submit their data once.

Providers have previously been asked to submit two sets of data every year – one to CIW through the annual returns, and one to us through our annual workforce data collection.

Data is now only collected through CIW's annual return process, which is carried out each spring.

The first of these combined collections has already taken place and will be reflected in the 2026 report, which we’ll publish later this year.

Find out more

If you’d like to know more about our annual workforce report or how we collect the data, please visit our workforce report page or contact data@socialcare.wales.