HC Deb 17 December 1962 vol 669 cc132-3W
72. Mr. Gower

asked the Minister of Labour if he will state, up to the latest convenient date, the number of persons in employment in the United Kingdom; what is the figure expressed as a percentage of the total working population; and if he will give comparable percentage figures for the same date in 1961, 1956, 1951, and 1946, respectively.

Mr. Whitelaw

The provisional estimate for the total number of persons in civil employment in mid-1962 is 24,535,000, or 96.7 per cent. of the total working population. The corresponding percentages for 1961, 1956, 1951 and 1948 were 97.0, 96.0, 95.6, and 94.7 respectively. Comparable figures for earlier dates are not available.