§ 61. Mr. KennedyTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give his current assessment of employment trends within the oil and oil-related sector; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. LeeThere are no comprehensive data available for the oil and oil-related sector, but following is a table giving the estimated number of employees in employment in extraction of mineral oil and natural gas (class 13 of the 1980 standard industrial classification) in Great Britain from 1979:
June Employees in employment 1979 19,000 1980 22,000 1981 24,000 1982 27,000 1983 28,000 1984 31,000 1985 31,000 1986 28,000 1987 26,000 The estimates are subject to considerable potential estimation error due to the relatively small number of employees in the sector. Although oil production is expected to decline gradually from now on, offshore gas production is at record levels and is set to continue rising for several years.