HC Deb 05 July 1988 vol 136 c556W
58. Mr. Roy Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement about the trend in the numbers employed in the manufacturing industry.

Mr. Lee

Between April 1987 and April 1988, the latest date for which figures are available, there was an average net decrease of 3,000 per month in the number of employees in employment in the manufacturing industries in Great Britain. In the period from April 1986 to April 1987 the average net decrease was 12,000 per month. This is clear evidence that the trend in manufacturing employment has levelled out compared with the previous relatively rapid falls.