asked Her Majesty's Government:What was the total number of people employed in manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom in December 1995 and in December of each following year; and what estimates of employment in manufacturing industry have been made for the period covered by the latest forecasts. [HL409]

A monthly series for employee jobs and a quarterly series for workforce jobs in the manufacturing industries are published in Labour Market Trends (tables B12 and B18 respectively), copies of which are held in the House of Lords Library, and in Statbase on the ONS website www.statistics.gov.uk. Workforce jobs include employee jobs, self-employment jobs and government supported trainees. In line with the convention adopted by previous administrations, the Government do not publish forecasts for employment and unemployment.