§ Mr. Cryerasked the Secretary of State for Industry how many jobs have been lost in the West Yorkshire woollen textile industry, to the most recent practicable date; and if he will make a statement on factors likely to halt job losses.
§ Mr. David Mitchell[pursuant to his reply, 10 December 1980: The table below gives the numbers of employees in employment in West Yorkshire in the woollen and worsted industry—that is minimum list heading 414 of the Standard Industrial Classification 1968—in June each year 1971/1977. The 1978, 1979 and 1980 estimates are for Great Britain, as no West Yorkshire figures are available after June 1977.
127W
1971 76,797 1972 72,214 1973 71,326 1974 67,915 1975 59,369 1976 54,843 1977 54,672 1978 *80,100 1979 *76,300 1980 *66,700 * Provisional. The main factors which could halt job losses in the industry are macroeconomic developments leading to lower inflation and higher domestic demand from the outwear sector of the clothing industry and from some of the industry's more important export markets such as West Germany, Japan, the United States of America and the Middle East. Fashion swings from synthetic to natural fibres or changes to more formal clothing styles could have an influence on demand, as could the commercial response from the management of the industry to foreign competition. Some jobs are being supported by the Government's temporary short-time working compensation scheme.