HC Deb 26 June 2003 vol 407 cc958-9W
Mr. Watson

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department has commissioned analyses to ascertain what kinds of jobs are being created in the United Kingdom. [120286]

Mr. Browne

We have not commissioned analyses to ascertain what kinds of jobs are being created in the United Kingdom. However, information from the Workforce Jobs series shows that the number of jobs has increased across a wide range of sectors since 1997. These increases are shown in the table.

Sector Increase in job numbers (March 1997— March 2003)
Finance and Business Services 826,000
Public administration, Education and Health 714,000
Distribution, Hotels and Restaurants 387,000
Sector Increase in job numbers (March 1997— March 2003)
Other Services 231,000
Construction 201,000
Transport and Communications 186,000

Source:

Workforce Jobs

Mr. Watson

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobs created in the UK in the past 12 months can be characterised as enduring for longer than one year. [120291]

Mr. Browne

The number of jobs created in the UK in the past 12 months which can be characterised as enduring for longer than one year is not available. However, the Labour Force Survey (LFS) shows that 94 per cent. of people in work are in permanent jobs. In the last year the number of people in permanent jobs rose by 105,000, while the number of people in temporary jobs fell by 23,000. The LFS also shows that 81 per cent. of those currently in work have been continuously employed for more than one year, up 1 per cent. from the same quarter last year.

Mr. Watson

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of the jobs created in the UK in the last five years are characterised as(a) skilled and (b) semi-skilled. [120293]

Mr. Browne

The information requested is not available. However, changes in the level of employment over time by skill level are collected as part of the Labour Force Survey. Latest figures are in the table. The definition of occupational classifications was changed in 2001 so it not possible to provide comparable data for earlier years.

Major occupation group (main job) 2001 2002
Higher skilled employment 10,821,051 11,187,179
Mid skilled employment 8,858,373 8,784.692
Lower skilled employment 7,723,923 7,673,457

Source:

Labour Force Survey