§ 52. Mr. Varleyasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will set out in the OFFICIAL REPORT the latest unemployment statistics for the Chesterfield travel-to-work area showing male unemployment separately and giving the percentage increase in unemployment since July, 1970.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Employment (Mr. Dudley Smith)Yes, Sir, and the hon. Gentleman may like to know that male unemployment in the Chesterfield area has increased by 452 since July, 1970.
§ Mr. VarleyWill not the information show an alarming trend in the Chesterfield travel-to-work area? Has not the male unemployment figure reached a totally unacceptable level of 6.5 per cent., with an overall rate of 5 per cent.? Does not the hon. Gentleman accept that the only way in which to reverse this trend is to grant the area intermediate area status?
§ Mr. Dudley SmithThe overall percentage is 4.4. It has gone up slightly —by 0.2 per cent.—since February last year. But the Government are certainly not complacent about this and I think that the hon. Gentleman will have an adequate reply from my hon. Friend when he intiates his Adjournment debate later this week. As he knows, the great difficulty of the area is the colliery closures. About 800 men in the Chesterfield travel-to-work area are now looking for other employment because of the closures.
§ Following is the information:
| TOTAL NUMBERS REGISTERED AS UNEMPLOYED IN THE AREA COVERED BY THE CHESTERFIELD, CLAY CROSS, ECK INGTON AND STAVELEY EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGES | |||
| Males | Females | Total | |
| July, 1970 | 2,811 | 394 | 3,205 |
| March, 1971 (provisional) | 3,263 | 460 | 3,723 |
| Percentage increase | 16.1 | 16.8 | 16.2 |