HC Deb 05 July 1974 vol 876 c299W
Mr. Onslow

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of the population of the United Kingdom excluding Northern Ireland is currently in full-time employment; and how this compares with 1964 and 1954, respectively.

Mr. Harold Walker

The proportions of the population of Great Britain who were in employment at mid-year in 1954, 1964 and 1973, are shown below. The proportion in full-time employment is shown for 1973.

Year Percentage in employment Percentage in full-time employment
1954 47.5
1964 47.5
1971(a) 44.6
1971(b) 43.9 37.8
1973 44.7 37.7

Notes:

1. Employment data for 1954 and 1964 cannot be separated between full-time and part-time.

2. In calculating the proportion in full-time employment for 1973 it has been assumed that no self-employed person works part-time.

3. Figures for 1971 are also shown, since employment estimates up to 1971 (a) were based primarily on counts of national insurance cards, whereas estimates from 1971 (b) onwards are based primarily on the censuses of employment. A main difference is that the censuses measure employment at a point in time whereas the counts of insurance cards cover all persons who worked at some time in the year, some of whom would not have been in employment at a particular time.