HC Deb 21 February 1984 vol 54 cc689-90
13. Mr. Chapman

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is his estimate of the latest number of women employed; and how this figure compares with the number and percentage of the total employed 10 years previously.

Mr. Alan Clark

In September 1983 there were 9,054,000 women in employment in the United Kingdom. That is an increase over September 1973, when there were 8,902,000.

Mr. Chapman

Bearing in mind the sad, but great, increase in the total number of jobless during a similar period, is not the fact that there are more women registered as employed today compared with 10 years ago a remarkable trend? Does that not underline the quite dramatic and shifting patterns of employment in our country? Putting the question as neutrally as possible, as I see my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister about to enter the Chamber, does my hon. Friend welcome that trend?

Mr. Clark

My hon. Friend is right. Changes in employment patterns reflect changes of emphasis in productivity. I am certain that as these changes come to fruition they will have a good effect on employment as a whole.

Ms. Richardson

Does not the Minister recognise that the number of women unemployed would be greater if the statistics had not been fiddled, with the result that a number of women are not able to register? Does he accept that cuts in public expenditure, and, therefore, in community services which especially help the elderly and the disabled, force many women who would like to have a job—and, in many cases, need a job—to stay at home and look after dependent relatives?

Mr. Clark

The number of women in employment has gone up. The reluctance of Opposition Members to accept good news never ceases to amaze me; if anything good is offered, the Opposition feel obliged to reject it.

Mr. Bill Walker

Is my hon. Friend aware that some changes in women's employment have resulted from changes in technology and in consumer demand? In my constituency, a canning factory and two spinning mills closed and many hundreds of women were laid off in 1978, when the Labour Government were in office. Many of those women are still unemployed today, but the changing attitude towards service industries will give them an opportunity of finding jobs.

Mr. Clark

My hon. Friend is right. This is part of the changing employment pattern, which in turn reflects changes in emphasis in industry and technology. In the long run, that is bound to be beneficial.