The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 1 May 2007:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the working age population and the economically active population over the last thirty years. 1 am replying in her absence. (134616)
The attached table gives the working age population by gender from 1978 to 2005 which are based on mid-year population estimates. Mid-2005 population estimates are the latest available. The table also shows the numbers and rates of economically active people of working age by gender for the three months ending February of each year. The ONS uses the Labour Force Survey (LFS) to measure economic activity and this data is seasonally adjusted. As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty
The LFS publishes numbers of economic activity each month in the Labour Market First Release, in summary table 1. The latest Release can be found at:
http ://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/product.asp?vlnk=8292
Thousand and percentage Working age population2 Mid year estimates (Thousand) Economically active3 (Thousand) Economic activity rates4 (Percentage) All persons Men Women All persons Men Women All persons Men Women 1978 33,172 17,311 15,861 25,542 15,686 9,856 78.4 92.5 63.2 1979 33,436 17,423 16,013 25,713 15,669 10,045 78.3 91.8 63.7 1980 33,607 17,539 16,068 25,923 15,676 10,247 78.4 91.2 64.5 1981 33,780 17,646 16,134 26,157 15,809 10,347 78.6 91.3 64.8 1982 33,916 17,735 16,181 26,067 15,715 10,353 77.9 90.2 64.6 1983 34,160 17,891 16,269 25,857 15,575 10,282 76.9 88.7 63.9 1984 34,416 18,051 16,365 26,477 15,709 10,768 78.1 88.7 66.5 1985 34,586 18,105 16,481 26,896 15,837 11,059 78.8 88.9 67.9 1986 34,725 18,142 16,583 27,063 15,793 11,269 78.9 88.4 68.7 1987 34,877 18,194 16,683 27,302 15,795 11,507 79.3 88.1 69.7 1988 34,983 18,232 16,751 27,633 15,925 11,708 79.9 88.6 70.5 1989 35,079 18,268 16,811 27,886 15,974 11,912 80.4 88.7 71.5 1990 35,147 18,300 16,847 28,049 16,032 12,016 80.7 88.8 71.9 1991 35,197 18,303 16,894 28,002 15,953 12,049 80.4 88.2 71.9 1992 35,206 18,288 16,918 27,636 15,730 11,906 79.2 87.0 70.9 1993 35,208 18,270 16,938 27,505 15,580 11,925 78.8 86.2 70.9 1994 35,256 18,267 16,989 27,405 15,456 11,949 78.5 85.6 70.9 1995 35,366 18,317 17,049 27,312 15,357 11,956 78.1 84.9 70.7 1996 35,498 18,375 17,123 27,533 15,411 12,123 78.4 85.0 71.4 1997 35,624 18,428 17,196 27,651 15,394 12,257 78.5 84.7 71.9 1998 35,746 18,486 17,260 27,683 15,394 12,289 78.3 84.4 71.8 1999 35,928 18,582 17,346 28,005 15,503 12,502 78.8 84.7 72.7 2000 36,138 18,685 17,453 28,141 15,538 12,603 78.8 84.4 72.8 2001 36,406 18,827 17,579 28,312 15,631 12,681 78.8 84.3 72.8 2002 36,622 18,945 17,677 28,407 15,658 12,749 78.5 83.9 72.7 2003 36,828 19,068 17,760 28,606 15,750 12,856 78.6 83.9 73.0 2004 37,064 19,210 17,854 28,821 15,843 12,978 78.7 83.8 73.3 2005 37,368 19,390 17,978 29,069 15,950 13,119 78.8 83.7 73.6 2006 5— 5— 5— 29,022 15,952 13,071 78.6 83.6 73.3 2007 5— 5— 5— 28,9.95 15,936 13,059 78.5 83.5 73.2 1 Men aged 16 to 64 and women age 16 to 59. 2 Mid-year population estimates. It should be noted that 2005 are the latest available population estimates. 3 December-February LFS seasonally adjusted estimate. 4 Economically active as a percentage of all persons of working age. Economic activity rates are based on LFS household population estimates, not mid-year population estimates, 5 Estimates not available. Source: ONS Labour Force Survey (LFS) and Mid-year population estimates