To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment her Department has made of the number of telecommunications-related jobs that have been lost to overseas competition in the last six years; and if she will make a statement. [129388]
The Department of Trade and Industry has not made an assessment of whether any telecoms related jobs have been lost to overseas competition in the last six years. Despite a severe global downturn in the telecoms industry that has resulted in the loss of a number of telecoms related jobs world-wide, official statistics suggest that employment in telecoms in Great Britain has been relatively stable.
| Employment in the GB1 telecommunications industry | |
| Employment (thousand) | |
| 1998 | 194 |
| 1999 | 209 |
| 2000 | 236 |
| 2001 | 248 |
| 2002 | 2236 |
| 2003 | 3238 |
| 1Data for GB do not include Northern Ireland. | |
| 2Data as at December 2002. | |
| 3Data as at March 2003. | |
Sources:
1998 to 2001 figures: Annual Business Inquiry Data, Industry 64.2, Telecommunications 2002 to 2003 Labour Market Trends (Monthly Report) July 2003.