HC Deb 07 September 2004 vol 424 cc1214-7W
Mr. Woodward

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimates the Government have made of the percentage of women in(a) full-time and (b) part-time employment in (i) St Helens and (ii) the UK, broken down by region, in each year since 1997. [186926]

Ruth Kelly

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Sean Woodward dated 7 September 2004:

Female employment: percentages in full and part-time 3 months ending May each year from 1997 to 2004 not seasonally adjusted
March to May
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Full Time1
United Kingdom 55.1 55.2 55.6 55.5 55 6 55.9 55.6 55.6
Great Britain 55.0 55.0 55.3 55.4 55 4 55.8 55.5 55.4
England 54.7 54.7 55.2 55.5 55 4 55.7 55.4 1 55.3
North East 51.4 54.1 52.2 52.9 53 5 53.9 53.8 56.3
North West: 55.7 55.2 55.7 56.6 57.1 57.5 57.2 57.4
St Helens (Local Authority)2 n/a n/a n/a 44 56 56 59 63
Yorkshire and Humberside 52.5 51.3 51.0 52.9 51 5 52.8 52.1 52.3
East Midlands 51.0 51.8 52.8 53,0 52 7 52.4 54.0 53.7
West Midlands 54.2 54.8 53.8 54.7 54 8 54.7 54.9 53.6
Eastern 54.4 54.0 55.3 53.0 53.9 53.8 55.1 52.1
London 65.6 64.3 66.2 65.6 66,3 66.9 65.9 66.1
South East 53.4 53.7 53.8 54.6 54 4 54.3 52.6 53.5
South West 47.9 49.2 50.0 50.6 48,4 49.3 48.9 49.5
Wales 53.6 54.8 55.0 53.3 53,7 55.3 56.1 54.2
Scotland 57.9 57.6 56.5 55.5 56,8 57.6 56.6 57.8
Northern Ireland 61.3 61.6 63.6 58.5 61,8 58.8 59.0 62.5
Part Time1
United Kingdom 44.9 44.8 44.4 44.5 44.4 44.1 44.3 44.3
Great Britain 45.0 45.0 44.6 44.6 44.5 44.1 44.4 44.5
England 45.3 45.2 44.7 44.5 44.6 44.3 44.6 44.7
North East 48.6 45.9 47.7 47.1 46.5 46.1 46.2 43.6
North West: 44.3 44.8 44.3 43.4 429 42.5 42.8 42.6
St Helens (Local Authority)2 n/a n/a n/a 56 44 44 41 37
Yorkshire and Humberside 47.5 48.7 #8.9 47.0 48,5 47.2 47.9 47.7
East Midlands 49.0 48.2 47.2 47.0 47.3 47.6 45.9 46.3
West Midlands 45.8 45.1 46.2 45.3 45.2 45.3 45.0 46.4
Eastern 45.5 46.0 44.7 47.0 46,1 46.1 44.9 47.9
London 34.4 35.6 33.7 34,4 33.7 33.1 33.9 33.8
South East 46.6 46.2 46.2 45.3 45.6 45.7 47.4 46.4
South West 52.1 50.8 50.0 49.4 51.6 50.7 51.0 50.4
Wales 46.3 45.2 45.0 46.7 46.3 44.6 43.8 45.8
Scotland 42.1 42.4 43.5 44.5 43.1 42.4 43.4 42.1
Northern Ireland 38.6 38.2 36.4 41.5 38.2 41.1 41.0 37.4
Total in employment

(thousands)
United Kingdom 12,000 12,092 12,294 12,471 12,017 12,764 12,847 12,971
Great Britain 11,697 11,792 11,984 12,175 12,307 12,442 12,520 12,647
England 10,091 10,179 10,359 10,534 10,636 10,764 10,767 10,893
North East 485 469 469 483 489 507 489 515
North West: 1,339 1,322 1,346 1,365 1,418 1,420 1,433 1,445
St Helens (Local Authority)2 n/a n/a n/a 35 34 37 35 35
Yorkshire and Humberside 986 1,006 1,006 1,039 1,044 1,034 1,056 1,077
East Midlands 881 884 891 908 886 919 918 944
West Midlands 1,045 1,067 1,086 1,082 1,086 1,099 1,109 1,119

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about females in full-time and part-time employment. (186926)

The attached table' shows the percentages of females in full-time, and part-time employment and the number of women in employment in St. Helens Local Authority and each region of the UK for the three month periods ending in May of each year from 1997 to 2004.'

Estimates are taken from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to sampling Variability. Estimates for St Helens Local Authority District are based on small sample sizes and are subject to a high level of sampling variability. In particular, year-to-year changes are likely to show considerable volatility.

Female employment: percentages in full and part-time 3 months ending May each year from 1997 to 2004 not seasonblly adjusted
March to May
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Eastern 1,118 1,144 1,164 1,190 1,225 1,221 1,228 1,265
London 1.466 1,474 1,537 1,554 1,557 1,576 1,534 1,543
South East 1,731 1,768 1,790 1,833 1,839 1,859 1,883 1,856
South West 1,040 1,046 1,070 1,081 1,091 1,128 1,118 1,128
Wales 551 545 555 560 560 559 625 605
Scotland 1,054 1,068 1,070 1,081 1,111 1,119 1,129 1,149
Northern Ireland 304 300 310 296 310 321 327 324
n/a no available data
1Percentage of all women in employment. Percentages are based on total that includes people who did state whether they were full or part-time who did not answer the full or part time question
2Estimates for St. Helens Local Authority are based on smaller sample sizes and are therefore subject to a higher degree of sampling variability. They should therefore be treated with caution and, in particular, changes from year to year should not be used in isolation from the figures for a run of years.
Source:
ONS Labour Force Survey