§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many adults are aged between 18 and 24 years; and if he will estimate the number of these who are(a) employed, (b) self-employed, (c) in full-time education and (d) in other categories of economic activities. [144355]
§ Miss Melanie Johnson[holding answer 8 January 2001]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from John Kidgell to Mr. Steve Webb, dated 10 January 2001:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question about the number of 18 to 24 year olds and their number in various categories of economic activity (144355). I am replying in his absence.The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is the main source of labour market data on individuals used by National Statistics. There were 4,942,000 people aged 18 to 24 in the UK in summer (June to August) 2000 of which (a) 3,451,000 were in employment, (b) 1,165,000 were full-time students and (c) 965,000 were in other categories of economic activities.People aged 16 or over are classed as in employment by the LFS if they have done at least one hour of paid work (as an employee or self-employed) in the week prior to their LFS interview or if they have a job that they are temporarily away from. People who do unpaid work in a family business and people on government-supported training and employment programmes are also included according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) convention.Full-time students are those people aged over 16 who are still at school or in some other form of full-time education, including sandwich courses.The other category comprises the unemployed and the economically inactive, excluding students.