§ 3. Mr. Loydenasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest percentage rate of unemployment; and what are the numbers involved.
§ Mr. Tom KingOn 10 May there were 3,084,457 unemployed claimants in the United Kingdom. This corresponds to an unemployment rate of 12.9 per cent.
§ Mr. LoydenDoes the Secretary of State agree that those figures are appalling? When will the much vaunted economic recovery which the Government constantly parade filter into areas such as Merseyside, where 150,000 people are unemployed? Does he agree that the obscene policy of naked economic forces being pursued by the Government should be abandoned in the interests of the unemployed?
§ Mr. KingThe House knows my views on this matter. Plainly, the present rate of unemployment is far too high. The Government have taken steps to ensure that, based on a sounder and more competitive economy, we can at last see the prospect of creating more jobs. Against that 143 background, I am sure that the hon. Gentleman welcomes, as I do, the evidence that, after three years of substantial job losses, in the final three quarters of last year there was a significant increase and about 200,000 more people are now in jobs.
§ Sir Dudley SmithWill my right hon. Friend reaffirm a statement that he made recently, that, if the British home industries could recapture the share of the market that they had a decade ago, about 1.25 million extra jobs would be created?
§ Mr. KingMy hon. Friend is correct. That is the figure. One can study the various industries involved. One simple statistic is the import penetration of foreign cars. Not many years ago—certainly in the memory of hon. Members—imports of foreign cars were about 10 per cent., but they are now over 50 per cent. That tells its own story. It is only by having an efficient and competitive industry that Britain can begin to have the opportunity to create the extra jobs that are needed.
§ Mr. WrigglesworthHave not successive statements by Ministers raised the false hope that unemployment would be falling steadily by this time? With the recent increase in interest rates, together with the forecasts of even higher interest rates, can we expect any drop in the level of unemployment? What can the Secretary of State say to the unemployed about their prospects now?
§ Mr. KingI shall not comment on interest rates, save to say that increased interest rates will not be helpful.
In looking at the latest unemployment figures, I was struck by an encouraging rising figure for vacancies. Yesterday, during the short time that I spent in south Wales, I noticed that each of the firms that I visited expected to increase its labour force this year. There is significant evidence, even with some time lag, of a real increase in jobs.
§ Mr. FormanWhen considering cost-effective measures to help the unemployed — particularly the long-term unemployed—will my right hon. Friend take early steps to expand the enterprise allowance scheme, which has proved worth while?
§ Mr. KingI am grateful to my hon. Friend for mentioning that scheme. I believe that it is one of the most effective of the special employment measures that we have introduced. It has been extremely successful, and we are keeping under close review whether it will be possible to increase the funding for it.
§ Mr. BennIn reality, do not the Government believe that mass unemployment is necessary to hold down wages and to boost profits? If profits are made, with the abolition of exchange control, will not many of those profits be exported, denying employment to people in Britain?
§ Mr. KingMy memory goes back far enough to recall a certain Minister of Technology who tried to encourage productivity in this country. It is sad to see the right hon. Gentleman having to abandon the principles for which he once stood.
§ Mr. Beaumont-DarkMost hon. Members would accept that unmeployment is one of the great tragedies that afflict our country. Does my right hon. Friend agree that disputes, such as the miners' strike — as a result of which the country is to be asked for £1.3 billion—take 144 place at the cost of other people's jobs, and that, unless the dispute is settled, other jobs will be lost to feed Mr. Scargill's ambitions?
§ Mr. KingThe dispute is a tragedy in terms of the effect that it could have, the fact that many people are losing the earnings to which they are entitled and the fact that the economy of the country is not being strengthened. I believe it is symbolic that the NCB made the first delivery against the contract that it achieved for Durham coke. It is tragic that that coke did not come from Durham.
§ Mr. John SmithIt is within the memory of many hon. Members that not so long ago the Conservative party would have been deeply ashamed to preside over a situation in which 3 million people were unemployed. Will the Secretary of State answer one simple question: if the economy keeps recovering, why does unemployment keep rising?
§ Mr. KingThe right hon. and learned Gentleman does no service to the real problems faced by the unemployed by trying to pretend that there is some simple wand that can be waved. The idea that this problem is faced uniquely by Conservative Governments — [Interruption.] I was challenged on the figures, so If shall repeat them, and at the same time correct one of them. The unemployment figures for the European Community are as follows. At a time when we have 12.9 per cent. unemployment, the figure for Belgium is 18.5 per cent., for the Netherlands 17.9 per cent., for Ireland 16.8 per cent. and for Italy— this is the correction—13.3 per cent.