§ Mr. George OsborneTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the working population in each region of the UK is government employees. [145116]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. George Osborne, dated 5 January 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about government employees in the UK. (145116)
Information from administrative returns shows that, in 2002, 2.8% of employee jobs in the UK were in central government. No statistics from this source are available by region.
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) does provide regional statistics for the proportions of employed people who classify themselves as working in central government or the Civil Service. These figures 152W are based on respondents' own assessments and are not necessarily consistent with the official classification of the organisations they work for. However, for the UK as a whole, the most recent LFS data for the three months ending August 2003, shows 2.9% of people in employment working in central government, very close to the figure from the administrative returns.
The attached table shows the LFS statistics by region.
Percentages of employment in central Government and the Civil Service by region Three months ending August 20031 Government office region of residence Percentage East Midlands 2.1 Eastern 2.3 London 3.3 North East 3.5 North West 3.0 Northern Ireland 6.4 Scotland 3.5 South East 2.7 South West 2.7 Wales 3.5 West Midlands 1.8 Yorkshire and Humberside 3.0 United Kingdom 2.9 1 Percentage, no seasonally adjusted. Source:
Labour Force Survey