To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of jobs created since 1997 which have been filled by immigrants, asylum seekers and foreign nationals who have arrived in the UK since 1997. (154368)

[holding answer 8 October 2007]: Labour Force Survey figures show that in 1997 there were 1.1 million foreign nationals in employment in the UK. In the intervening period over half (0.6 million) of these individuals have moved out of employment or have left the country, while 1.4 million foreign nationals are recorded as in employment having arrived in the UK. Accounting for these flows into and out of the UK, the total number of foreign nationals in employment in the year to the second quarter of 2007 is 1.9 million, a rise of 0.8 million since 1997. Data broken down for asylum seekers are not available.