Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 19 Feb 1997

Vol. 475 No. 2

Written Answers. - Labour Force Statistics.

Ivor Callely

Question:

45 Mr. Callely asked the Taoiseach the number and percentage of women in the labour force; if he will give comparative figures for January 1987, January 1977, January 1967 and January 1957; the likely trend over the next decade; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4588/97]

The Taoiseach

Results for the exact years requested by the Deputy are not available. The following table contains relevant Census of Population figures for 1961, 1971, 1981 and 1991 together with the 1996 Labour Force Survey results:

Year	Total Labour Force	Women in Labour Force	% Share of women
1961	1,108,108	286,579	25.9
1971	1,125,371	289,346	25.7
1981	1,271,122	358,627	28.2
1991	1,382,870	471,670	34.1
1996	1,475,200	540,200	36.6

The CSO's most recent population and labour force projections, published in 1995, forecast that the total labour force would grow to between 1,537,000 and 1,619,000, depending mainly on the assumptions made about the level of net migration. The number of women in the labour force in 2006 was projected at between 583,000 and 616,000, representing 38 per cent of the labour force.

However, the projections for the overall labour force and for the percentage of women in the labour force in 1996 have both already been exceeded. There were 540,200 women in the labour force, representing 36.6 per cent of the labour force, in April 1996. This compares with the projection for 1996 of 508,700 or 35.5 per cent.