I have been asked to reply.
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 asking what her estimate is of the (a) employment and (b) unemployment rate of (i) men (ii) women and (iii) men and women with the equivalent of five GCSEs or fewer aged (A) 16 to 24, (B) 25 to 34, (C) 35 to 49 and (D) 50 to state retirement age was in each quarter of the last 10 years (241704)
The available information requested is provided in the attached tables. Comparable estimates are not available for the periods prior to April 2001. In addition, estimates for Q1 2005 are not available.
The estimates are derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
The figures have been derived from the LFS microdata which are weighted using the official population estimates published in autumn 2007. Consequently the estimates from Q3 onwards are not entirely consistent with the figures published in the monthly Labour Market Statistics First Release which are weighted using more up-to-date population estimates.
Percentage People with the equivalent of five GCSEs or fewer 16 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 49 50 to 59-642 Employment rate Unemployment rate Employment rate Unemployment rate Employment rate Unemployment rate Employment rate Unemployment rate 2001 Q2 49 19 68 8 72 6 60 4 Q3 53 21 66 9 72 5 59 4 Q4 53 21 66 9 72 5 60 4 2002 Q1 49 22 65 9 72 6 60 4 Q2 49 20 65 8 72 6 60 4 Q3 50 23 65 8 72 6 61 4 Q4 52 20 66 8 72 5 61 5 2003 Q1 48 22 65 9 71 5 61 4 Q2 48 20 65 8 72 5 62 4 Q3 51 21 66 8 71 5 62 4 Q4 52 19 65 8 72 5 61 4 2004 Q1 49 21 65 8 72 4 62 4 Q2 48 20 65 8 72 5 61 4 Q3 50 23 65 8 71 4 61 4 Q4 51 21 66 8 72 4 62 3 2005 Q1 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Q2 47 21 66 7 71 5 61 3 Q3 48 23 65 8 71 5 62 4 Q4 48 23 65 8 71 5 62 4 2006 Q1 46 22 65 9 71 6 61 4 Q2 45 23 65 10 71 6 62 4 Q3 48 25 65 9 72 6 62 4 Q4 48 23 65 10 71 6 61 4 2007 Q1 45 25 66 10 71 6 61 4 Q2 44 24 66 9 71 6 62 4 Q3 47 26 66 8 72 5 62 4 Q4 49 22 65 8 71 6 63 4 2008 Q1 46 23 66 9 71 6 62 4 Q2 45 23 66 9 71 6 62 4 Q3 46 27 65 9 71 6 62 4
Percentage Men with the equivalent of five GCSEs or fewer 16 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 49 50 to 59-642 Employment rate Unemployment rate Employment rate Unemployment rate Employment rate Unemployment rate Employment rate Unemployment rate 2001 Q2 55 20 81 9 79 7 61 5 Q3 60 21 80 10 80 6 62 5 Q4 59 22 79 9 80 5 62 5 2002 Q1 54 24 78 10 80 7 62 5 Q2 54 21 78 8 80 7 62 6 Q3 54 24 78 8 80 7 62 5 Q4 58 21 79 7 80 6 63 6 2003 Q1 53 24 77 9 80 6 63 5 Q2 55 20 79 8 81 6 65 5 Q3 57 22 79 8 81 5 65 4 Q4 57 21 78 9 81 5 54 4 2004 Q1 53 22 78 8 81 5 64 4 Q2 52 21 77 9 80 5 63 5 Q3 56 23 66 8 80 5 64 4 Q4 58 20 78 8 80 5 65 4 2005 Q1 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Q2 52 22 79 7 79 5 64 4 Q3 53 25 79 7 80 5 65 4 Q4 53 24 79 8 80 6 65 4 2006 Q1 50 24 78 9 80 6 64 5 Q2 49 24 79 10 80 6 65 5 Q3 53 26 79 9 81 6 65 5 Q4 54 23 80 9 81 6 64 4 2007 Q1 50 26 80 9 80 6 64 5 Q2 49 24 82 8 81 6 65 5 Q3 52 26 82 8 81 5 65 5 Q4 55 23 81 7 80 6 65 5 2008 Q1 51 25 81 9 80 6 65 4 Q2 50 24 80 9 80 6 65 5 Q3 52 28 79 9 80 6 65 5
Percentage Women with the equivalent of five GCSEs or fewer 16 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 49 50 to 59-642 Employment rate Unemployment rate Employment rate Unemployment rate Employment rate Unemployment rate Employment rate Unemployment rate 2001 Q2 43 18 56 8 66 5 59 3 Q3 45 21 54 8 66 4 57 3 Q4 46 19 53 8 66 5 58 3 2002 Q1 43 19 53 8 65 5 58 3 Q2 43 17 54 8 66 5 58 3 Q3 45 20 53 8 66 5 59 3 Q4 44 19 54 8 66 5 59 3 2003 Q1 43 19 55 7 65 4 59 3 Q2 40 20 53 7 65 4 60 3 Q3 45 20 54 8 64 4 60 3 Q4 46 16 54 7 65 4 59 3 2004 Q1 44 20 53 8 65 4 59 3 Q2 43 19 53 7 65 5 59 2 Q3 44 23 54 8 64 4 58 3 Q4 44 21 54 8 64 4 59 3 2005 Q1 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Q2 41 19 52 8 64 5 59 3 Q3 43 21 51 8 64 4 59 3 Q4 41 22 51 9 64 5 59 3 2006 Q1 41 19 51 10 64 6 59 4 Q2 39 21 51 10 63 6 59 4 Q3 41 23 50 11 63 5 59 4 Q4 40 22 51 10 63 6 59 4 2007 Q1 38 24 50 11 62 6 59 3 Q2 37 24 50 11 63 6 60 3 Q3 41 26 49 9 64 5 59 4 Q4 43 21 48 9 63 5 60 3 2008 Q1 40 21 49 10 63 6 59 4 Q2 39 22 50 10 63 5 59 4 Q3 36 27 50 11 63 6 59 4 n/a = data not available 1 Employment rate is calculated as number of people in employment with 5 GCSEs or fewer as a percentage of the population in the individual age group with 5 GCSEs or fewer. The unemployment rate is calculated as the number of people unemployed with 5 GCSEs or fewer as a percentage of the economically active population in the individual age group with 5 GCSEs or fewer. 2 men aged 50-64 and women aged 50-59 Note: It should be noted that the above estimates exclude people in most types of communal establishment (e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels, mobile home sites etc.