§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the size of the total labour force each year since 1970, calculated from the labour force survey data; what was the percentage change each year; and if he will estimate the size of the total labour force for the current year and for each year up to 1995.
§ Mr. LeeConsistent estimates of the size of the labour force in past years and projections for the future, based on a number of sources including the labour force survey, are available only for the civilian labour force, and back to 1971. They are given in the table:
Civilian labour force in Great Britain Level (thousand) Annual/ Change (per cent.) Estimates 1971 24,895 — 1972 24,953 0.2 1973 25,125 0.7 1974 25,269 0.6