HC Deb 31 March 1994 vol 240 cc923-4W
Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what factors account for the fall in employment in manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom since 1990; and how much of the increase over the same period in output per person employed is a reflection of the faster rate of contraction in labour intensive industries and occupations.

Mr. Michael Forsyth

Employment fell due to a number of factors including the cyclical downturn in the economy. Productivity growth has been strong across manufacturing, whatever the compositional changes.