The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated December 2008:
As National Statistician. I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question requesting what estimate has been made of the change in number of people in employment in (a) England (b) East of England (c) Cambridgeshire (d) Peterborough and (e) North West Cambridgeshire in the last 12 months. (242875)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles employment statistics for National and regional level using the Labour Force Survey (LPS) and for smaller areas using the Annual Population Survey (APS), following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.
Table 1. attached, shows the number of people aged 16+ resident in England and the East of England who were in employment in the three month period July to September 2008. which is the latest period for which figures are available, and the change from one year earlier using LFS.
Table 2. attached, shows the number of people aged 16+ resident in Cambridgeshire. Peterborough (UA) and North West Cambridgeshire who were in employment in the 12 month period ending in March 2008, which is the latest period for which figures are available, and the change from one year earlier using APS.
As these estimates are for a subset of the population in small geographical areas, they are based on small sample sizes, and are therefore subject to large margins of uncertainly.
thousand Three month period England East of England July to September 2007 24,609 2,777 July to September 20082 *24,742 *2,816 Change on year +133 +39 1 Levels of employment are provided for persons aged 16 and over. 2 Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See guide to quality as follows. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent. we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key Coefficient of Variation (CV) (%) Statistical Robustness * 0 = CV< 5 Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV < 10 Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV < 20 Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV 20 Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes Source: Annual Population Survey
thousand 12 month period ending Cambridgeshire Peterborough (UA) North West Cambridgeshire March 2007 296 80 61 March 20082 **317 ***78 ***59 Change on year +21 -3 -2 1 Levels of employment are provided for persons aged 16 and over. 2 Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See guide to quality as follows. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent. we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key Coefficient of Variation (CV) (%) Statistical Robustness * 0 = CV< 5 Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV < 10 Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV < 20 Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV 20 Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes Source: Annual Population Survey