§ Mr. BoyesTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many jobs have been lost in the shipbuilding industry since June 1979; and how many of these jobs have been in the northern region of England.
§ Mr. LeeThere are no figures for job losses and job gains. Between June 1979 and June 1987, there was a net decrease of 63,000 in the number of employees in employment in the shipbuilding and repairing industry (SIC 80: Activity Heading 3610) in Great Britain.
My Department's employment statistics for the northern region for this period relate to the broader industry class "manufacture of other transport equipment" (SIC 80: class 36 which includes shipbuilding and repairing, railway and tramway vehicles, cycles and motorcycles, aerospace equipment manufacturing and repairing, and other vehicles). In September 1984 the number of employees in shipbuilding and repairing in the northern region was 95 per cent. of the total employees in the broader industry class. Between June 1979 and June 1987 the number of employees in employment in the broader industry class decreased by 24,000 in the northern region and by 126,000 in Great Britain.
The figures are unadjusted for the effects of seasonal variations and are subject to considerable estimation error due to the relatively small number of employees in the industry.