§ 39. Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide projections for employment prospects in the fishing and agriculture sectors of the Scottish economy from the present time until 1999.
§ Mr. LangProjections are not made for either the agriculture or fishing sectors. Continuing the contraction which has persisted throughout the post-war period, the number of workers, excluding occupiers and spouses, employed on agricultural holdings as recorded in the main June agricultural census has fallen by about 3 per cent. per year over the past 10 years to 28,000 in 1989. Employment in sea fishing has remained broadly steady at about 8,000 over the period.