asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many jobs have been created in Scotland since January 1983; how many of them are self-employed; how many are part-time; and how many he estimates are in rural areas.

It is estimated that the employed labour force increased overall by 20,000 between December 1982 and March 1985; that, within that total figure, the numbers of employees in full-time employment declined by 45,000, the numbers of employees in part-time employment increased by 44,000 and the numbers of self-employed increased by 21,000. Estimates are not available for the numbers in rural areas.