asked the Taoiseach the number of women of all ages in the workforce expressed as a percentage of the total labour force with a breakdown by number and occupational area for employed women in each of the following years for which figures are available: 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1979.
Written Answers. - Women Employees.
Information of the kind requested by the Deputy is available only from Labour Force Surveys. The following table gives estimates from 1975 and 1977 Labour Force Surveys of the number of women workers in different occupational groups and also shows these figures as a percentage of the total estimated persons at work in each such group.
1975 (end May) |
1977 (end April) |
|||||
Occupational Group |
Women at work |
Persons at work |
Percentage Women |
Women at work |
Persons at work |
Percentage Women |
(000) |
(000) |
(%) |
(000) |
(000) |
(%) |
|
Agricultural workers |
20.6 |
232.1 |
8.9 |
18.0 |
219.7 |
8.2 |
Producers, makers and repairers |
40.7 |
229.2 |
17.8 |
37.8 |
231.4 |
16.3 |
Labourers and unskilled workers |
* |
60.9 |
* |
* |
52.0 |
* |
Transport and communication workers etc. |
12.4 |
79.8 |
15.5 |
11.0 |
75.6 |
14.6 |
Clerical workers |
75.7 |
108.2 |
70.0 |
77.1 |
111.8 |
69.0 |
Commerce, insurance and finance workers |
38.4 |
107.2 |
35.8 |
37.1 |
108.5 |
34.2 |
Service workers |
42.9 |
70.9 |
60.5 |
41.0 |
71.1 |
57.7 |
Professional and technical workers |
59.1 |
117.2 |
50.4 |
62.7 |
128.7 |
48.7 |
Others |
1.3 |
35.6 |
3.7 |
2.7 |
44.5 |
6.1 |
Total at work |
291.7 |
1,040.9 |
28.0 |
288.3 |
1,043.3 |
27.6 |
Unemployed (incl. 1st job seekers) |
25.0 |
106.3 |
23.5 |
20.8 |
100.6 |
20.7 |
Total Labour Force |
316.7 |
1,147.2 |
27.6 |
209.1 |
1,143.9 |
27.0 |
Note: The asterisks (*) denote estimates of less than 1,000, which are not published because they are considered to be subject to a wide margin of sampling variability.
It should also be noted that there are conceptual differences between the unemployment estimates from the two surveys and this should be borne in mind in interpreting the figures.
A further Labour Force Survey was undertaken in 1979 and comparable results from this survey will be available in the autumn of this year.