You asked:
This is a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
I would like to request the following information:
The number of people on zero-hours contracts in Southport for the years:
- 2016
- 2015
- 2014
- 2013
- 2012
- 2011
The number of people on zero-hours contracts within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton for the years:
- 2016
- 2015
- 2014
- 2013
- 2012
- 2011
The number of people on zero-hours contracts in Ormskirk for the years:
- 2016
- 2015
- 2014
- 2013
- 2012
- 2011
We said
Estimates of the number of people in employment on zero-hours contracts by region are available from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), which is a survey of people resident in households. The LFS asks people in employment if their job has any flexible working arrangements and, if so, to choose from a list of employment patterns as to which best describes their situation. Zero-hours contract is one of the options listed and is described as ‘where a person is not contracted to work a set number of hours, and is only paid for the number of hours that they actually work’. This information has been collected during the October to December survey periods since 2000 and additionally in April to June periods from 2015.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) also undertakes a survey of businesses to obtain an employer-based estimate. This adopts a slightly different definition to the LFS, and reports on the number of employee contracts that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours, which provided work in the survey reference period. ONS concluded that LFS data was the most appropriate source to use in responding to your questions, as employer-based estimates cannot be broken down by region. Estimates of people on zero-hours contracts by region are set out in Table 1 (below).
Estimates broken down by region are only available for the last two years due to the historical estimates being of insufficient quality because of the relatively small sample size involved. For the same reason estimates by local authority and constituency are not available for any period. Further information on the quality and scope of estimates is available in a methodological note published by ONS. Methodological note for the Labour Force Survey estimates of people in employment reporting a zero-hours contract, available at: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/method-quality/specific/labour-market/articles-and-reports/estimate-of-people-in-employment-reporting-a-zero-hours-contract.pdf
Regional estimates can be found in Table 4 in the link below: