§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were estimated to be(a) employed and (b) unemployed in (i) Portsmouth, South and (ii) Hampshire in each of the last two years; and if he will make a statement. [73874]
§ Ruth KellyI 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. Hancock, dated 23 October 2002:
317WAs National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about employment and unemployment in Portsmouth South and Hampshire.The Labour Force Survey (LFS) gives estimates of employment and unemployment levels and rates for counties. The latest available estimates are for the three month period ending August 2002. ONS publishes employment and unemployment rates, but not levels, for parliamentary constituencies. The latest available estimates are for the twelve month period ending February 2001.The tables overleaf give estimates of (a) employment and unemployment rates for Portsmouth South constituency for the twelve month periods ending February 2000 and February 2001; and (b) employment and unemployment levels and rates for Hampshire for the three month periods ending August 2001 and August 2002. These estimates are from the LFS and are not seasonally adjusted. They are published on the Nomis®database, which is available in the House of Commons Library.