§ Denzil DaviesTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of jobs in(a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales were in the (i) public sector and (ii) voluntary sector in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [139943]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Denzil Davies, dated 19 November 2003
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about jobs in the public and voluntary sectors. (139943)
Information about jobs in the public sector in the United Kingdom is compiled by ONS from returns made by public bodies. From this source, the latest estimate of jobs in the public sector in the UK is 5,298,000 in June 2002, representing 18.3 per cent. of all jobs in the UK. Comparable information is not available for England, Wales and Scotland, nor for the voluntary sector.
However, information about people in employment is collected in the Labour Force Survey (LFS), and is classified by sector according to the details of their work supplied by respondents to the survey. Employment data covers only the main job of those employed and therefore omits second and subsequent jobs. The LFS definition of the voluntary sector includes all institutions holding charitable status, which would include, for example, employees in many private schools.
The attached table shows the percentages of all people in employment that worked in the public and voluntary sectors in England, Scotland and Wales for the year to August 2003.
Percentages of all people in employment working in the public and voluntary sectors—12 months to August 2003 Percentage not seasonally adjusted Voluntary sector Public sector England 2.0 22.2 Scotland 2.4 27.4 Wales 2.0 28.5 Source
Labour Force Survey.