Letter to Lord Pearson of Rannoch from the National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales, Office for National Statistics, Mr Len Cook, dated 26 February 2001.

As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question on the total number of full-time equivalent jobs (a) in the United Kingdom economy and (b) those which are linked to activities directly contributing to credits on the United Kingdom balance of payment current account (HL808).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) does not calculate the number of full-time equivalent jobs. The table below shows the number of full-time, part-time and total employee jobs in the UK plus the other workforce jobs components (not seasonally adjusted), for the latest period for which data are available, September 2000. Workforce jobs are the sum of employee jobs, self-employed jobs, HM Forces and government-supported trainees.

These estimates are based on the results of regular sample surveys of employers which count the number of employee jobs, the Labour Force Survey, and administrative sources. The data are published in Table B. 11 of Labour Market Trends, copies of which are held in the House of Lords Library and in Statbase on the ONS website www.statistics.gov.uk.

No information is available linking workforce jobs with activities directly contributing to credits on the United Kingdom balance of payment current account.