asked the Taoiseach if, in the light of the April 1988 Labour Force Survey he will give the results of the revised survey data for the years 1983 to 1987, including in tabulated form the revised sectoral employment figures for the labour force for these years.
Written Answers. - Labour Force Survey.
Official labour force estimates are made on an annual basis in respect of mid-April. The dominant input in preparing these estimates is the series of annual labour force surveys (LFS). Preliminary results for April 1988 were published recently, based on the special extraction and early processing of relevant details from the 1988 LFS. This publication involved no revisions to the official estimates for previous years.
The labour force estimates for the years 1983 to 1988 are shown in the table as follows:
Table: Estimated Labour Force, Mid-April 1983-1988
Economic Activity |
1983 |
1984 |
1985 |
1986 |
1987 |
1988† |
Thousands |
||||||
1. At work |
||||||
Agriculture, forestry and fishing |
189 |
181 |
171 |
168 |
164 |
162 |
Mining, quarrying, turf production |
10 |
10 |
10 |
8 |
7 |
7 |
Manufacturing |
220 |
211 |
205 |
211 |
208 |
208 |
Building and construction |
86 |
83 |
76 |
72 |
71 |
70 |
Electricity, gas and water |
15 |
15 |
15 |
15 |
14 |
14 |
Commerce, insurance and finance |
211 |
210 |
210 |
212 |
213 |
221 |
Transport, communication and storage |
70 |
69 |
68 |
65 |
66 |
64 |
Public administration and defence |
73 |
72 |
73 |
71 |
70 |
69 |
Other non-agricultural economic acitivity |
250 |
252 |
251 |
258 |
267 |
272 |
Of which: |
||||||
— Professional services |
178 |
177 |
173 |
181 |
185 |
187 |
— Personal services |
56 |
58 |
61 |
58 |
63 |
66 |
— Other |
16 |
17 |
17 |
19 |
19 |
19 |
Total at work |
1,124 |
1,103 |
1,079 |
1,081 |
1,080 |
1,086 |
Of which: |
||||||
— Agriculture |
189 |
181 |
171 |
168 |
164 |
162 |
— Industry |
331 |
319 |
306 |
307 |
300 |
299 |
— Services |
604 |
603 |
602 |
606 |
616 |
626 |
2. Unemployed |
||||||
Total unemployed |
183 |
204 |
226 |
227 |
232 |
216 |
Of which: |
||||||
— having lost/given up previous job |
154 |
170 |
190 |
188 |
191 |
178 |
— looking for first regular job |
29 |
34 |
36 |
39 |
40 |
38 |
3. Labour Force (1+2) |
1,307 |
1,307 |
1,305 |
1,308 |
1,312 |
1,302 |
†Preliminary.