Skip to main content

Labour Statistics

Volume 170: debated on Monday 26 March 1990

The text on this page has been created from Hansard archive content, it may contain typographical errors.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will give the total number of employees in (a) manufacturing, (b) services and (c) all industries and services in Great Britain and each of the standard regions in (i) June 1979 and (ii) June 1989; and what was the figure between the two years in (1) numbers and (2) percentage;(2) what was the number of employees in employment in Great Britain in each of the standard regions in

(a) June 1979 and (b) June 1989; and what is the difference between the two years in (i) numbers and (ii) percentage;

(3) what was the number of people in employment excluding Her Majesty's forces in Great Britain and each of the standard regions in (a) June 1989 and (b) June 1979; and what was the change in (i) numbers and (ii) as a percentage;

(4) what was the total number of (a) male and (b) female employees in employment, self-employment, Her Majesty's forces and work-related Government training in Great Britain and each of the standard regions in (i) June 1979 and (ii) June 1989; (or work related training June 1983); and what are the differences between the two years in (1) numbers and (2) percentage;

(5) what was the total number of part-time and full-time employees in employment and self-employment in Great Britain and each of the standard regions in (a) June 1979 and (b) June 1989; and what was the difference between the two years in (i) numbers and (ii) percentage;

(6) what was the total number of people in work-related Government training in Great Britain and each of the standard regions in (a) June 1983 and (b) June 1989; and what were the differences between the two years in (i) numbers and (ii) percentage;

(7) what was the total number of self-employed in Great Britain and each of the standard regions in (a) June 1979 and (b) June 1989; and what was the difference between the two years in (i) numbers and (ii) percentage;

(8) what was the total work force in employment in (a) June 1979 and (b) June 1989; and what is the change between the two years in (i) numbers and (ii) percentage;

(9) what is his estimate of the numbers of self-employed in (a) manufacturing industries, (b) services and (c) all industries and services for Great Britain and each standard region in (i) June 1979 and (ii) June 1989.

The hon. Member has asked a number of related questions. As the answers involve a considerable number of statistical tables, I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the total number of YTS trainees or youth equivalent included in the employees in employment in Great Britain and for each standard region in (a) June 1979 and (b) June 1989; and what is the change between the years in (i) numbers and (ii) percentage.

The employees in employment figures include only those trainees who have contracts of employment. The table gives the number of such trainees on YTS in each region in June 1989. None of the trainees on the youth opportunities programme in 1979 had contracts of employment, and therefore comparisons between 1979 and 1989 either in real terms or percentage terms is not possible.

Number of trainees with contracts of employment
RegionNumber
Scotland8,000
Northern5,000
North West15,000
Yorkshire and Humberside12,000
Midlands10,000
Wales4,000
South West7,000
All persons in employment1with a second job as employee, by region spring estimates, thousands and per cent.
Estimated Change
197921989197921989
RegionThousandsThousandsThousands3Per cent.]
Great Britain289708419144·8
Northern123826205·8
Yorkshire and Humberside255732128·8
East Midlands28532692·6
East Anglia123018147·0
South East of Which90222132146·7
-Greater London37683286·5
South West257044174·6
West Midlands237552224·7
North West367639109·1
Wales113120171·1
Scotland265630115·9
1 Includes employees, the self-employed and persons in government employment and training programmes. In 1979 it was not possible to separately identify persons on government programmes and only those who stated they were in employment in the week before interview are included in the above totals.
2 Preliminary estimates (1989 only)
3 Calculated using unrounded estimates.

Source: labour force surveys.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total numbers of jobs which would be discounted if all full-time equivalence factors used by the European Community were applied to part-time jobs in (a) June 1979 and (b) June 1989.

We do not believe in discounting part-time jobs. Furthermore, the apparent method of calculating full-time equivalents set out in the European Commission report "Employment in Europe" is an inappropriate measure of labour input.

Unemployment rates by highest qualifications held2for people of working age, by sex and region: spring 1979 and 1989
Persons aged 16-59/643 Per cent.
Region of residenceSpring 1979Spring 19894
Level of highest qualification helds5All PersonsMalesFemalesAll PersonsMalesFemales
Great Britain
All65·64·96·77·47·57·2
GCE A level or equivalent or higher2·92·44·34·64·35·1
Other qualification5·14·45·67·27·17·3
No formal qualification7·06·97·211·613·79·1
Northern
All68·79·08·311·513·19·4

Region

Number

South East15,000
London7,000
East Midlands and Eastern13,000
Great Britain Total96,000

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total number of those with a second job as an employee in Great Britain and each of the standard regions in (a) June 1979 and (b) June 1989; and what is the difference between the two years in (i) numbers and (ii) percentage.

Estimates of persons with a second job are available only from labour force surveys, conducted in the spring of each year.Estimates from the 1979 and 1989 labour force surveys, as requested, are shown in the table:

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the unemployment rate by highest qualification and sex for Great Britain and each standard region for (a) spring 1979 and (b) spring 1989.

Final estimates from the 1979 labour force survey and preliminary estimates from the 1989 labour force survey are shown in the following table.

Region of residence

Spring 1979

Spring 1989

4

Level of highest qualification held

5

All Persons

Males

Females

All Persons

Males

Females

GCE A level or equivalent or higher4·74·8

1

6·97·9

1

Other qualification7·1

1

7·512·213·710·9
No formal qualification11·313·68·616·722·011·5

Yorkshire and Humberside

All66·05·17·68·79·47·7
GCE A level or equivalent or higher2·82·6

1

4·64·54·9
Other qualification5·1

1

6·08·89·18·5
No formal qualifications7·46·98·014·118·79·0

East Anglia

All64·83·86·46·86·86·9
GCE A level or equivalent or higher2·5

1

1

4·13·36·2
Other qualification5·4

1

6·36·66·56·6
No formal qualification5·34·86·010·413·07·6

South East

A1164·53·56·14·23·55·2
GCE A level or equivalent or higher

1

1

1

2·6

1

1

Other qualification5·9

1

1

3·7

1

1

No formal qualification4·7

1

1

7·07·3

1

—Greater London

All64·13·05·84·03·54·8
GCE A level or equivalent or higher2·31·54·82·51·93·7
Other qualification3·82·94·64·53·75·2
No formal qualification4·63·65·86·16·85·4

—South East (exc. Greater London)

All64·13·35·35·35·05·7
GCE A level or equivalent or higher2·31·83·73·43·04·3
Other qualification3·83·14·55·34·65·8
No formal qualification4·94·25·88·69·67·3

South West

All64·13·74·77·37·47·1
GCE A level or equivalent or higher2·32·3

1

4·94·85·1
Other qualification3·93·44·36·66·36·8
No formal qualification5·34·95·712·513·710·8

West Midlands

All65·34·76·25·35·35·4
GCE A level or equivalent or higher2·72·1

1

3·73·34·7
Other qualification5·05·74·45·44·56·1
No formal qualification6·15·76·77·710·05·0

North West

All65·24·75·97·77·18·5
GCE A level or equivalent or higher2·2

1

1

4·53·66·6
Other qualification4·6

1

5·08·17·98·3
No formal qualification6·16·06·210·711·210·1

Wales

All66·96·37·79·910·59·1
GCE A level or equivalent or higher3·12·8

1

6·06·15·9
Other qualification5·44·76·09·710·78·9
No formal qualification8·99·88·015·618·512·3

Scotland

All67·16·18·89·810·19·3
GCE A level or equivalent or higher3·6

1

1

6·97·26·2
Other qualification6·2

1

7·68·07·58·4
No formal qualification9·48·910·014·816·212·9

Source: LFS estimates.

1 Less than 10,000 in cell: estimates not shown.

2 Based on the Great Britain labour force definition of unemployment (which broadly uses a one-week job search period). The unemployment rate for each qualification level/sex/region category is calculated as the numbers unemployed in the category as a proportion of all economically active persons in the category.

3 The upper age limit is 64 for males and 59 for females.

4 Preliminary estimates (1989 only).

5 A finer breakdown of qualification levels is not given, as many more of the table entries would then be based on small samples and would not be shown.

6 Includes persons not stating their highest qualification held, and for 1979 only, all persons in full time education and all males aged 60 to 64 (who were not asked about their highest qualification levels).