HC Deb 29 March 1977 vol 929 c237
Mr. Madden

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the number of men and women unemployed in travel-to-work areas in Calderdale, expressed in numerical and percentage terms and compared with the same period last year.

The Under-Secretary of State for Employment (Mr. John Golding)

At 10th March, 2,289 males and 810 females were unemployed in Calderdale and the unemployment rates were 4.7 per cent. for males and 2.4 per cent. for females. These figures are provisional. The corresponding figures for March 1976 were 2,532, 729, 5.2 and 2.1.

Mr. Madden

Do those figures include the large-scale redundancies of textile workers that have recently occurred in my constituency? Will my hon. Friend give an indication of the present trend of vacancies within the same area?

Mr. Golding

Obviously the figures include all those who have been declared redundant, have finished work and have registered as unemployed. They cannot reflect any future trends.