These notes are meant to be indicative only. Source publications should be consulted for rigorous definitions.

Activity Rate	The percentage of the total population who are economically active, whether in or out of employment.
Average Household Size	The ratio of the number of private households to the population in private households.
Car	A car or van normally available for use by the household but excluding vans used solely for the carriage of goods.
Dorset	Where statistics are provided for Dorset these represent Dorset including Bournemouth and Poole.
Dorset(LA)	Where statistics are provided for Dorset(LA) these represent the area under Dorset County Council control and do not include Bournemouth and Poole.
DPOP	Dorset Planning Officers’ Panel, the umbrella group for planning officers in the county.
Dwelling	Dwellings were not counted directly in the1981 Census and therefore had to be estimated from the counts of household spaces. The formula was: Total dwellings= Total unshared household spaces+(shared household spaces x 0.2 or 0.3) + household spaces in non-permanent accommodation. The factor to be used depended on the amount of sharing in a given area.
Enumerated Population	All persons present in an area on Census night.
Home Population	All persons resident in an area. The home population differs from the Census‘usually resident population’ in that it counts students as living at their term time address, armed forces where they are stationed and there is a small difference in the treatment of prisoners.
Households	From the Census of Population, a household is defined as either one person living alone or a group of people living, or staying temporarily, at the same address with common housekeeping(i.e if there was anyregular arranbement to share at least one meal a day or if the occupants shared a common living or sitting room).
Household Space	The definition of a household space used in the Census was the accommodation used by the household.
Non-Private Households	Households in communal establishments such as hotels,guest houses,hospitals, nursing homes, student hostels,boarding schools, prisons, armed forces establishments, ships, hostels, religiuos communities and so on.
Occupancy Rate	The ratio of the number of occupied dwellings to the population in private households.
Private Households	All households other than those in communal establishments.
Public Dwelling Completion	A dwelling built by a local authority, new town development corporation, government department or housing association.
Quinary	Five year age group.
Usually Resident Population	The population enumerated in an area and normally resident in it plus absent members of households normally resident in the area of which at least one member of the household was present on Census night.
Residence - Based Rates	This unemployment rate is calculated using the number of claimants as a proportion of the working age resident population of an area
Travel to Work Area	Travel to Work Areas(TTWAs) are approximations to self-contained labour markets; that is , an area within which most commuting to and from work occurs within the boundary of that area.
Vacancy Rate	The percentage of dwellings which were vacant on Census night.
Workforce based rates	Calculated by expressing the number of unempolyed as a percentage of the estimated total workforce. (The sum of unemployed claimants, employees in employment, self-employed, H.M. Forces and participants on work related government training schemes).