§ Mr. Carterasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the potential number of the total work force; and what is the number of persons at present employed.
§ Mr. Dudley SmithThe total working population of Great Britain is derived mainly from counts of national insurance cards exchanged on behalf of employees, together with estimates of numbers of employers and self-employed 427W persons and numbers in H.M. Forces. The most recent figure is for March, 1971, when the working population was estimated to be 24,783,000. This comprised 24,083,000 persons in civil employment or H.M. Forces, together with 700,000 persons registered as wholly unemployed.