HC Deb 29 January 2002 vol 379 cc164-5W
Mr. Jack

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what studies her Department has conducted into the number of temporary employees who(a) prefer to remain in temporary employment and (b) are unable to find permanent employment. [30680]

Alan Johnson

This Department has conducted no recent study on this issue. However, the Labour Force Survey (LFS), which is an Office for National Statistics data set covering the UK, examines whether such individuals are temporary employees by choice or because they cannot find a permanent job. The LFS defines temporary employees as including individuals engaged on: employment business assignments, seasonal work, fixed term contracts and casual work. The autumn 2001 survey estimated that:

  1. (a) 500,000 temporary employees (30.2 per cent, of the total) preferred to remain in temporary employment, and
  2. (b) 416,000 (25.1 per cent) were unable to find permanent employment.