Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many jobs have been lost in the construction industry since June 1979 to the latest date in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. GummerInformation about job losses and job gains is not available from the Department's statistics, but an indication of the net effect can be seen by comparing the levels of employees in employment at different dates. between June 1979 and December 1982, the latest available, the number of employees in employment in the construction industry in England and Wales decreased by 212,800. The figure is provisional.