§ Sir Trevor SkeetTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information he has about the number of married women in the United Kingdom and regarding the number who undertake domestic duties in the home and have no paid employment.
§ Mr. NichollsPreliminary results from the labour force survey for spring 1989 show that there were in the United Kingdom, 11,241,000 married (or cohabiting) women of working age, 16–59 years old. Of these 3,903,000 had no paid employment, comprising 466,000 who were unemployed (using the international definition based on a four-week job search period) and 3,437,000 who were economically inactive. Among the latter group some 70 per cent. (an estimated 2,430,000 women) further reported that their main reason for not seeking work was that they were looking after the family or home.