HC Deb 29 March 2004 vol 419 cc1235-6W
Mrs. Dean

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many jobs have been created in Burton constituency since 1997; and what the level of unemployment was in the Burton constituency in each year since 1997. [161837]

Ruth Kelly

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mrs. Janet Dean, dated 29 March, 2004: As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about jobs created, and unemployment levels in Burton. (161837) While statistics of new jobs created are not available explicitly, statistics from surveys enable comparisons to be made of net changes, from year to year. Table A shows the number of jobs in Burton Constituency in each year from 1997 to 2002, the latest year for which information is available. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) following International Labour Organisation definitions. However, the LFS sample size is too small to give reliable estimates of unemployment in the Burton Parliamentary Constituency. ONS also compiles statistics of those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) for local areas including parliamentary constituencies. Table B gives the annual average number of JSA claimants for the Burton Constituency for each year since 1997.

Table A: Number of jobs1 in the Burton constituency 1997 to 2002
Number of jobs
1997 43,000
1998 46,600
1999 46,000
2000 49,500
2001 50,400
2002 51,700
Net change
1997 to 2002 8,700
1 Employee jobs only, not self-employed jobs.

Source1997; Annual Employment Survey, 1998–2002; Annual Business Inquiry (ABI).

Table B: JSA Claimants in the Burton constituency; 1997 to 2003 annual average
JSA claimants
1997 2,369
1998 1,944
1999 1,801
2000 1,681
2001 1,392
2002 1,154
2003 1,072

SourceJobcentre Plus administrative system.