Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many men aged 16 to 24 years old were employed in the manufacturing sector in April.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.

Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician

The Baroness Stedman-Scott OBE

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

2 May 2025

Dear Lady Stedman-Scott,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Questions asking how many men aged 16 to 24 years old were employed in the construction sector in April (HL6964), and how many men aged 16 to 24 years old were employed in the manufacturing sector in April (HL6965).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) collects information on the labour market status of individuals through the Labour Force Survey (LFS), which is a survey of people resident in households in the UK. The responses allow us to estimate how many people are in employment, as well as information on their age and sex. In addition, working respondents report the industry they believe best reflects their workplace. These responses are classified using the Standard Industrial Classification 2007 (SIC07).

Unfortunately, estimates for April 2025 will not be available until 10 June 2025. In the period December 2024 to February 2025, the latest LFS data available, the number of men aged 16 to 24 years who were working in the construction sector was 196,000, while the number of men aged 16 to 24 years who were working in the manufacturing sector was 155,000.

The ongoing challenges with response rates, response levels and weighting approach mean that labour market statistics based on the Labour Force Survey (LFS) are subject to increased volatility and are considered ’official statistics in development’ until further review.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond