HC Deb 24 October 1978 vol 955 c815W
Mrs. Wise

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of jobs are in manufacturing industry and in services respectively (a) in Coventry and (b) over the United Kingdom as a whole; whole; and if he will make a statement on the implications of these figures.

Mr. Golding

My Department's census of employment for June 1976, the latest date for which figures are available, shows that in the Coventry travel-towork area the manufacturing sector accounted for 57 per cent. of employees in employment compared with 32 per cent. for the United Kingdom as a whole. At the same date, 38 per cent. of employees in employment in Coventry were in the service sector compared with the United Kingdom average of 57 per cent. These figures illustrate Coventry's continuing dependence on manufacturing industry, although in the years up to 1976 the shift in employment in Coventry between manufacturing and services appears to have been faster than that experienced nationally.