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7 Jan 2008 : Column 326W—continued

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Percentage
	South East	South West	Wales	Scotland	Northern Ireland	Total
Lone fathers
1997	60	54	65	47	(4)—	58
1998	(3)—	(3)—	(3)—	(3)—	(3)—	(3)—
1999	72	42	65	60	70	57
2000	(3)—	(3)—	(3)—	(3)—	(3)—	(3)—
2001	61	75	45	63	42	64
2002	78	59	50	59	78	68
2003	78	65	59	57	59	69
2004	72	71	67	67	49	66
2005	86	75	71	68	55	69
2006	74	63	75	85	64	69
2007	81	73	49	76	45	64
Lone mothers
1997	48	48	44	38	42	43
1998	(3)—	(3)—	(3)—	(3)—	(3)—	(3)—
1999	54	57	48	46	39	47
2000	(3)—	(3)—	(3)—	(3)—	(3)—	(3)—
2001	55	63	45	53	46	50
2002	59	63	49	55	43	52
2003	58	63	59	57	40	51
2004	59	62	49	55	47	53
2005	60	66	55	55	48	55
2006	62	58	60	57	51	55
2007	67	64	53	59	53	56
All lone parents
1997	50	48	45	39	41	45
1998	(3)—	(3)—	(3)—	(3)—	(3)—	(3)—
1999	56	55	49	47	42	48
2000	(3)—	(3)—	(3)—	(3)—	(3)—	(3)—
2001	55	64	45	54	46	51
2002	60	62	49	56	44	53
2003	60	63	59	57	—	53
2004	61	64	50	56	47	54
2005	63	67	56	56	48	56
2006	63	59	61	59	52	56
2007	68	65	52	61	52	57
(1) Men aged 16-64 and women aged 16-59. (2) Dependent children are those aged under 16 and those aged or 16-18 who are never-married and in full-time education. (3) Comparable estimates for 1998 and 2000 are not currently available. (4) Sample size too small to provide an estimate Note: As with any sample survey, estimates from the Labour Force Survey are subject to a margin of uncertainty. Source: LFS Household datasets.

Employment: Older Workers

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the employment rate of (a) men and (b) women aged over 50 years was in each region in each quarter of the last 10 years. [174840]

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

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 7 January 2008:

As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the employment rate of (a) men and (b) women aged over 50 was in each region in each quarter of the last 10 years. (174840)

Not-seasonally adjusted estimates for regional employment rates by age are published each quarter in the Labour Market Statistics Regional First Releases. For figures since quarter 3 2005 please visit the following link;

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/OnlineProducts/LMS_regional.asp

The attached table shows selected historical quarters and has been derived from the published tables. It shows the employment rate of men and women aged 50 to retirement age for the three month period ending June each year, from 1997 to 2007. These estimates are not-seasonally adjusted.

Estimates are taken from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.

7 Jan 2008 : Column 329W

7 Jan 2008 : Column 330W

Employment rate of men and women aged 50 to retirement age by region Not seasonally adjusted, April - June 1997 to 2007
	United Kingdom	North East	North West	Yorkshire and the Humber	East Midlands	West Midlands	East	London	South East	South West	Wales	Scotland	N orthern Ireland
Men (50-64)
1997	67	55	62	62	70	72	73	68	75	72	59	63	61
1999	69	54	63	63	72	71	75	69	79	74	59	62	62
2001	70	59	65	68	72	69	77	69	78	76	59	67	61
2002	70	56	64	70	73	71	77	69	78	73	62	64	63
2003	72	61	70	70	77	73	77	70	78	76	64	70	66
2004	72	58	68	71	74	71	76	72	79	75	66	70	67
2005	72	60	65	71	73	73	78	75	79	75	63	72	66
2006	73	65	68	72	75	75	77	72	78	75	67	69	66
2007	73	68	69	69	72	73	79	70	78	76	66	74	64
Women (50-59)
1997	61	51	56	59	64	62	66	62	67	66	56	54	51
1999	63	53	60	61	63	65	68	63	69	69	55	60	53
2001	65	62	61	65	67	65	68	65	72	68	57	64	49
2002	65	59	62	63	68	67	70	64	73	69	56	64	56
2003	67	58	68	68	68	66	71	64	72	69	63	67	57
2004	67	55	66	67	67	68	74	64	72	71	62	68	53
2005	68	63	65	69	71	67	72	67	73	72	63	67	54
2006	68	62	66	69	71	71	71	65	74	72	63	68	57
2007	69	62	65	69	70	71	72	66	77	74	64	72	55
Note: Comparable data not available for 1998 and 2000. Source: ONS Labour Force Survey (LFS)

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