§ Mr. Lawsonasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish figures to show trade union membership (a) as a proportion of the total labour 406W force and (b) as a proportion of central and local government employees, for every year since 1945 in each case.
§ Mr. Booth:The aggregate membership of all trade unions—including members in overseas branches—expressed as a proportion of the total working population of the United Kingdom, is given below for each year since 1945. The working population consists of employees in employment, employers and self-employed persons, Her Majesty's Forces and registered unemployed. I regret that similar figures relating to central and local government employees are not available.
Year Per cent. 1945 31.7 1946 36.9 1947 38.8 1948 40–0 1949 39.9 1950 39.3 1951 39.9 1952 40.1 1953 39.4 1954 39.1 1955 39.5 1956 39.4 1957 39.7 1958 39.0 1959 39.5 1960 39.8 1961 39.9 1962 39.9 1963 39.8 1964 40.1 1965 40.2 1966 40.0 1967 39.9 1968 40.1 1969 41.2 1970 44.1 1971 44.3 1972 44.6 1973 44.8 1974 45.5 1975 46.7 1976 47.1