§ Mr. BellinghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment her Department has made of the number of telecommunications-related jobs that have been lost to overseas competition in the last six years; and if she will make a statement. [129388]
§ Mr. TimmsThe Department of Trade and Industry has not made an assessment of whether any telecoms related jobs have been lost to overseas competition in the last six years. Despite a severe global downturn in the telecoms industry that has resulted in the loss of a number of telecoms related jobs world-wide, official statistics suggest that employment in telecoms in Great Britain has been relatively stable.
Employment in the GB1 telecommunications industry Employment (thousand) 1998 194 1999 209 2000 236 2001 248 2002 2236 2003 3238 1Data for GB do not include Northern Ireland. 2Data as at December 2002. 3Data as at March 2003. Sources:
1998 to 2001 figures: Annual Business Inquiry Data, Industry 64.2, Telecommunications 2002 to 2003 Labour Market Trends (Monthly Report) July 2003.