§ Mr. Newtonasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will estimate the proportion of the working population employed in firms employing 25 people or less.
§ Mr. Golding, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 10th July 1978; Vol. 953. c. 373], gave the following information:
Information about the numbers employed in firms of different sizes for the whole economy is not available. From data compiled by the Business Statistics Office it is estimated that, in 1975, 7 per cent. of all those working in manufacturing industries in the United Kingdom were in enterprises—see note (a)—employing 34W fewer than 25 people. The corresponding figure for mining and quarrying was 2 per cent.
In the Census of Employment—see note (b)—information is collected for units which are either a complete establishment or, in some cases, only part of an establishment. While often a firm is a single establishment, there are other cases where it has more than one establishment. The branches of multiple firms thus constitute separate units. From an analysis of the sizes of census units, it is estimated that in 1976, in Great Britain, 24 per cent. of all employees covered by the census were in census units with fewer than 25 employees. The percentage of employees in firms employing fewer than 25 workers will be considerably less than this.
Notes:
- (a) An enterprise can consist of one or more companies under common ownership or control.
- (b) The analysis of Census of Employment units does not cover agriculture and horticulture and private domestic service.