§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the number of men who have left the work force in Wales over the period 1975 to 1981, as reflected by the European Community labour force surveys.
§ Mr. Nicholas EdwardsThe European Community labour force survey—LFS—is a sample survey of private households carried out every two years covering about 5,000 households in Wales—or about 0.5 per cent.228W Estimates based on this survey are therefore likely to be subject to sampling error. The LFS does not directly provide information on the total number of men who have left the labour force in Wales between 1975 and 1981. However, mid-year estimates of the civilian labour force based on information from the LFS suggest that between 1975 and 1981 the male labour force in Wales fell from 777,000 to 763,000.