§ Mr. BestTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the rate of economic activity was in the Leeds North-West constituency in(a) 1997 and (b) 2002–03. [146204]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Harold Best, dated 7 January 2004:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about economic activity rates. I am replying in his absence. (146204)The attached table shows the working age economic activity rates for the Leeds North West constituency in successive twelve month periods ending from February 1998 to February 2002. These estimates are from the annual local area Labour Force Survey (LFS). Comparable information for the twelve month period ending February 2003 is not yet available. Working age is defined as ages 16–64 for men and 16–59 for women.The series of annual activity rates from 1997/98 to 2000/01 is fairly stable, and the sharp fall in the estimate for 2001/02 may have arisen partly from sampling variability. As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to this source of variation.
Working age1 economic activity rates2 in the Leeds North West constituency March to February Percentage 1997–98 83.5 1998–99 79.9 1999–2000 82.0 2000–01 84.0 2001–02 73.9 1 Men aged 16–64 and women aged 16–59 2Economically active as a percentage of the working age population Note:
These Labour Force Survey estimates have not been interim-adjusted to reflect the 2001 Census results
Source:
ONS Labour Force Survey