§ 13. Mr. Clifford ForsytheTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the employment situation within the construction industry in Northern Ireland. [2525]
§ Mr. MossAt June 1996, there were 22,430 employees in employment in construction in Northern Ireland, which is some 3.9 per cent. of total employees. This is a decrease of 230 employees (-1 per cent.) over the quarter and 930 (-4 per cent.) over the year. The most up-to-date information on the number of self-employed workers in the industry is from the 1991 census of population, at which time the figure stood at 13,970. The number of unemployed claimants indicating the construction industry as their usual source of employment was 14,310 as at September 1996.