§ Mr. HendryTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his latest estimate is of the number of vacancies in the construction industry in each region of the country. [78480]
§ Ruth Kelly[holding answer 31 October 2002]: I have been asked to reply.
The Information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr Charles Hendry, dated 4 November 2002:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question concerning the latest estimate of the number of vacancies in the construction industry in each region of the country (78480).The only comprehensive information about current job vacancies analysed by industry is the new monthly enterprise-based ONS Vacancy Survey, which at this stage is being published on an experimental basis. According to this survey there were 21,400 job vacancies in the construction industry on average for the period July to September 2002 for the United Kingdom as a whole. The design of the sample survey means it is not presently possible to provide regional analysis of vacancies on a reliable basis.