HC Deb 13 March 1963 vol 673 cc1350-1
35. Mr. Hector Hughes

asked the Minister of Labour how many persons were unemployed in the City and County of Aberdeen at the latest date, according to trade, industry and sex; what steps he has taken during the last month to reduce those numbers; and how those figures compare with the unemployment figures in the same areas during each of the last 10 years.

Mr. Whitelaw

The reply to the first and last parts of the Question consists of tables of figures and I will, with permission, circulate them in the OFFICIAL REPORT. The tables contain an analysis by industry and sex for February, 1963, and, for the earlier years, unemployment figures by sexes only. The analysis by industry is not readily available for previous years and I regret that it would involve a disproportionate amount of staff time to prepare.

Our local officers have continued their efforts to find employment for the workers who are registered.

Mr. Hughes

Does the hon. Gentleman realise that that is a very uninformative Answer and that he is therefore escaping the opportunity of my putting a supplementary question? Is he further aware that the figures are shocking and represent a terrible waste of human life? Will he consult the President of the Board of Trade and other Ministers with a view to finding some solution to this terrible problem in the north-east of Scotland, not the north-east of England?

Mr. Whitelaw

It was in order to give the hon. and learned Gentleman the maximum information that I adopted the method I did. It does not seem to have inhibited him in any way from asking a supplementary question. I note what he has said, as will my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade.

Mr. Manuel

Can the hon. Gentleman tell us the number of draftsmen included in these figures for the shipbuilding industry? These men are valuable workers. What steps is the hon. Gentleman's Department taking to see that they are employed to the benefit not only of the north-east of Scotland but to the rest of Britain?

INDUSTRIAL ANALYSIS OF THE NUMBER OF PERSONS REGISTERED AS UNEMPLOYED AT EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGES AND YOUTH EMPLOYMENT OFFICES IN ABERDEEN AND THE REST OF ABERDEENSHIRE 11TH FEBRUARY, 1963
Industry Aberdeen Aberdeen County (excluding Aberdeen)
Males Females Total Males Females Total
Agriculture and Horticulture … 151 17 168 300 17 317
Fishing … 166 — 166 299 — 299
Bacon curing, meat and fish products … 88 49 137 132 123 255
Shipbuilding and ship repairing 405 3 408 26 1 27
Spinning and Doubling of cotton flax and man-made fibres … 25 31 56 — 1 1
Bricks, Pottery, Glass, Cement, etc. … 95 1 96 16 — 16
Timber … 127 3 130 60 1 61
Construction … 794 1 795 583 2 585
Sea Transport … 154 — 154 27 — 27
Distributive Trades … 371 242 613 98 80 178
Entertainment and Sport … 63 16 79 4 3 7
Catering, Hotels, etc. … 133 92 225 22 25 47
Private domestic service … 12 34 46 6 57 63
Local Government Service … 196 23 219 25 1 26
Other Industries and Services … 924 336 1,260 296 166 462
Total, all Industries and Services … 3,704 848 4,552 1,894 477 2,371
NUMBER OF PERSONS REGISTERED AS UNEMPLOYED AT EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGES AND YOUTH EMPLOYMENT OFFICES IN ABERDEEN AND THE REST OF ABERDEENSHIRE AT THE UNDERMENTIONED DATES
Date Aberdeen Aberdeen County (excluding Aberdeen)
Male Female Total Male Female Total
12th February, 1962 … … 2,651 700 3,351 1,859 442 2,301
13th February, 1961 … … 2,623 671 3,294 1,019 402 1,421
15th February, 1960 … … 3,476 916 4,392 2,259 606 2,865
9th February, 1959 … … 3,807 1,066 4,873 775 40 815
17th February, 1958 … … 3,350 895 4,245 1,013 35 1,048
11th February, 1957 … … 2,849 855 3,704 90 48 138
13th February, 1956 … … 2,570 618 3,188 843 45 888
14th February, 1955 … … 2,163 825 2,988 515 37 552
15th February, 1954 … … 2,382 833 3,215 308 28 336
16th February, 1953 … … 2,637 904 3,541 240 104 344
11th February, 1952 … … 2,326 698 3,024 504 21 525