[holding answer13 December 2007]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 8 January 2008:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the (a) number and (b) percentage of those in employment who were (i) agency workers and (ii) temporary employees in each year since 1995. I am replying in her absence. (174026)
The attached table gives the number and percentage of people in the categories requested for the three month period ending June each year, from 1997 to 2007. Comparable estimates are not available prior to 1997 said for 1998 and 2000.
Estimates are taken from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
Thousand, except where indicated Three months ending June each year Total in employment Temporary employees Temporary employees as a percentage of total in employment Temporary agency workers1 Temporary agency workers as a percentage of total in employment 1997 26,356 1,739 6.6 235 0.9 1999 26,876 1,615 6.0 256 1.0 2001 27,438 1,652 6.0 268 1.0 2002 27,617 1,521 5.5 278 1.0 2003 27,863 1,422 5.1 246 0.9 2004 28,024 1,436 5.1 232 0.8 2005 28,193 1,371 4.9 253 0.9 2006 28,339 1,382 4.9 244 0.9 2007 28,434 1,427 5.0 275 1.0 1 Temporary agency workers are included in the temporary employees total. Note: Comparable data not available for 1998 or 2000. Source: Labour Force Survey (LFS)