§ Mr. Brothertonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the number of persons economically active, the number of persons employed, and the number of persons paying income tax in each financial year since 1950.
§ Mr. Denzil DaviesThe available information is as follows:
Estimates of Numbers Economically Active (thousands) 1951 22,610 1961 23,810 1966 24,857 1971 25,021 Figures are available only for census years: the 1971 figure is taken from the 10 per cent. sample.
Estimates of Numbers Employed (thousands) 1959 23,229 1960 23,643 1961 23,935 1962 24,108 1963 24,134 1964 24,421 1965 24,665 1966 24,818 1967 24,467 1968 24,309 1969 24,334 1970 24,190 1971 23,859 1972 23,856 1973 24,427 1974 24,506 1975 (provisional) 24,338 Figures are of total employed labour force, given as at June of each year, from the New Continuous Employment series. The assumptions are explained in Department of Employment Gazette for March 1975. Figures for 1972 onwards have been revised since that publication.
26WComparable figures are not available for the years before 1959. Part-timers are counted as whole units: those with two jobs will be counted twice.
Estimates of the Numbers Paying Income Tax1951–52*to 1975–76 (thousands†) 1951–52 16,150 1952–53 15,400 1953–54 15,900 1954–55 16,550 1955–56 16,300 1956–57 17,100 1957–58 17,350 1958–59 17,690 1959–60 18,370 1960–61 19,250 1961–62 19,850 1962–63 20,130 1963–64 17,810 1964–65 18,490 1965–66 19,330 1966–67 19,690 1967–68 20,010 1968–69 20,720 1969–70 20,570 1970–71 20,040 1971–72 19,680 1972–73 18,930 1973–74 19,700 1974–75‡ 20,350 1975–76‡ 20,700 *Information for 1950–51 is not available. † Married couples counted as one. ‡ Provisional.