HC Deb 08 September 2004 vol 424 cc1302-3W
Mr. Woodward

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate the Government have made of the percentage of people aged 50 to 65 who were(a) registered as unemployed and (b) economically inactive in (i) St. Helens and (ii) the UK, broken down by region, in each year since 1997. [186940]

Ruth Kelly

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

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Shaun Woodward, dated 8 September 2004: As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about unemployment and economic inactivity for people aged 50 to 65. (186940) The attached table gives estimates for the percentages of people aged 50 to 65 who are (a) unemployed and (b) economically inactive in the St. Helens Local Authority District and the UK by region for the three months ending in May of each year from 1997 to 2004.

Estimates are taken from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to sampling variability. Estimates for UK regions and for St. Helens Local Authority District are based on small sample sizes and are subject to a high level of sampling variability. In particular, year- to-year changes are likely to show considerable volatility.

Percentages of people aged 50 to 65 who are unemployed1 or economically inactive2—UK regions, 1997–2004 (three-month periods ending in May)3
percentage
Region 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
West Midlands 3 3 3 3 2 3 2 2
Eastern 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2
London 5 4 4 4 3 3 3 3
South East 3 2 2 2 1 2 2 2
South West 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2
Wales 2 3 3 2 1 2 2 2
Scotland 4 3 3 4 3 3 2 2
Northern Ireland 4 4 2 3 3 2 3 2
United Kingdom 3.4 2.8 2.8 2.6 1.9 2.2 2.0 1.9
Economically inactive2
North East 50 52 51 49 47 49 47 49
North West 45 47 44 44 43 43 39 40
in which St. Helens LAD 54 50 49 50 46 39 51 49
Yorkshire and Humberside 44 42 44 40 41 40 38 37
East Midlands 38 38 39 36 37 36 35 36
West Midlands 38 38 37 39 39 37 37 37
Eastern 37 33 35 34 32 32 32 31
London 38 40 38 38 37 37 37 36
South East 34 32 31 32 32 31 31 30
South West 35 35 34 36 36 35 35 33
Wales 48 49 48 48 47 47 43 42
Scotland 45 45 44 44 41 42 39 38
Northern Ireland 48 50 48 48 49 46 43 45
United Kingdom 40.4 40.2 39.6 39.3 38.5 37.9 36.6 36.3
1 Unemployed as a per cent. of total population aged 50 to 65.
2 Economically inactive as a per cent. of total population aged 50 to 65.
3 Not seasonally adjusted
4 LFS sample included no cases on which an estimate could be based.
Important Note:
Estimates for UK regions and for St. Helens Local Authority District are based on small sample sizes and are subject to a high level of sampling variability. They should be treated with caution. In particular, year-to-year changes are likely to show considerable volatility, and should not be used is isolation from the estimates for a sequence of years.
Source:
ONS Labour Force Survey

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