§ 9. Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what comparisons he has made of the change in the rate of unemployment between the United Kingdom and other EU countries; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. PortilloIn the past two years, unemployment in the United Kingdom fell by 600,000, while unemployment registers rose in the rest of Europe by 1.9 million.
§ Mrs. GillanIs it not a fact that the United Kingdom is the only country in the European Union in which unemployment not only has fallen consistently in the past year but is below average? Does my right hon. Friend agree that our opt-out from the social chapter preserves not only investment but jobs? Perhaps he would care to comment on the fact that a shop floor superviser for Black and Decker, which recently moved its production from Germany to the United Kingdom, said:
Industry is flexible—it has to be—the social chapter isn't.
§ Mr. PortilloMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. The United Kingdom has had the record that she described. 1518 Unemployment has fallen faster than in any other country and we now have higher employment levels for men and women than most countries in Europe. The general range of flexible labour market policies that the Government have pursued has been responsible for that rapid turnaround in our employment and unemployment prospects, as is recognised throughout Europe. Other countries are studying what we have done. Typically, only the dinosaurs in the Labour party refuse to recognise what has been achieved and how it has been achieved.
§ Mr. GrocottIs it too much to expect a little consistency from the Secretary of State in the lectures that he is fond of giving on our economy? Given that he and the Prime Minister repeatedly lectured us during the worst part of the recession that unemployment was nothing whatsoever to do with the Government, will he take the opportunity of telling the House and the country that, if there is some small upturn in the level of employment, it has nothing whatsoever to do with the Government?
§ Mr. PortilloI think that the hon. Gentleman finds it difficult to grasp fairly simple concepts. What the Government say is that they cannot create jobs. The Government are responsible for creating conditions such as low inflation, in which jobs can be created, but it is for businesses to create jobs. If we did not have low inflation, they would not be created. If we had a Labour Government, it is perfectly clear that we would have no strategy for low inflation and jobs would be destroyed for that reason, too.
§ Mr. Anthony CoombsDoes my right hon. Friend agree that clear evidence of the fact that the pernicious and employment-deterring effects of the social chapter are gradually dawning on European industrialists, rather than on the Labour party, is that Edward Reuter, the chairman of Mercedes-Benz, has said that, unless it does something about the costs that it is incurring but British companies are not, it will gradually move car production out of Germany to, one hopes, the United Kingdom?
§ Mr. PortilloYes, it is evident that European industrial leaders are giving thought to moving their operations to places where they do not face the burdens of the social chapter. They realise that those burdens prevent them from creating jobs. The great irony of all this is that many of the inward investment decisions have been made in north-east England and have benefited Labour consistencies, but Labour Members are so obdurate and blind that they will not even wake up to the benefits for their constituents. That is how well those people are served by Labour Members of Parliament.
§ Ms HarmanWill the Secretary of State admit that, since 1979, the United Kingdom has been the only G7 country that has seen no rise in the number of people employed? Does he not recognise the plain fact that, when it comes to unemployment, the British people simply do not trust this Government? They know that the Government have never been concerned about unemployment; all they have been concerned about is massaging the figures. When will the right hon. Gentleman stop fiddling the figures on unemployment? When will he stop making excuses about unemployment, and when will he produce some action to tackle unemployment?
§ Mr. PortilloDuring the 1970s, unemployment was worse than the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development average. Now, it is at the OECD average, which is an improvement. What the hon. Lady will not do—possibly because she is not so good with figures—is compare a like period with a like period. Over the course of the cycle, the number of jobs in this country has increased by 1.5 million. She needs to compare like with like and not just to pick her dates at random.
§ 10. Mr. CongdonTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current figure for unemployment (a) in the United Kingdom and (b) in other European Union countries; and if he will make a statement. [16012]
§ Miss WiddecombeThe International Labour Organisation unemployment rate in the United Kingdom was 8.9 per cent. in January 1995—lower than the EU average of 10.8 per cent. and lower than in every other EU country except Portugal, Luxembourg and Sweden. I shall, with permission, Madam Speaker, arrange for a full statistical table to be printed in the Official Report.
§ Mr. CongdonDoes my hon. Friend agree that Governments cannot create jobs but can create the right economic conditions in which business can flourish? Does she agree that the figures that she has just given and the 1,000 a day drop in unemployment demonstrate the success of policies designed to reduce burdens on business and create a framework in which businesses can expand?
§ Miss WiddecombeMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. Any comparative study with other European countries makes it clear that our policies are producing employment. At 68 per cent., we have the third highest percentage of the population in work in the European Union, and we have the second highest percentage of women in work in the European Union. We have a steadily increasing growth in jobs—260,000 in the past year alone. That is a tribute to our policies, as I said before, and Europe is beginning to realise that. Eventually, I suppose, even the Labour party will start to realise it.
§ Rev. Martin SmythI welcome the decline in the unemployment numbers, but does the Minister agree that there is a tremendous shortage of skills? Will the Government keep a watch on our European competitors who have hidden Government subsidies that affect even our shipyards? Is there not something wrong when a nation like ours cannot tender for the Oriana and when the Belfast shipyard had to employ 600 labourers from England although there is so much unemployment in Northern Ireland?
§ Miss WiddecombeThe hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to draw attention to skills. That is what lies behind the many Government initiatives, from the new modern apprenticeships to general national vocational qualifications and the Investors in People scheme. He is also right to say that we must all compete equally in Europe, which is why we are determined that no unfair burden of regulations puts us at a competitive disadvantage and that we will not have our workers stifled, as they would have been under the posted workers directive.
§ Mr. EasthamMay I remind the Minister when she is pluming herself about the unemployment figures in the 1520 UK that, in 1979, 1.25 million people were unemployed and now 2.5 million are unemployed? May I also remind her of the important fact that 3 million male full-time jobs have been lost in the UK since 1979?
§ Miss WiddecombeI am afraid that the hon. Gentleman is rather behind the times. We have a higher percentage of males in employment than France, Italy, Belgium, Greece, Ireland and Spain. Male unemployment has now been falling for some time. Male and female unemployment are falling and full-time and part-time jobs are rising. The Opposition simply cannot recognise facts even when they stare them in the face, but that is a fact. Another fact is that their policies cost jobs, the country will realise that their policies cost jobs, and they will never have an opportunity to tell us what their minimum wage will be because there will be no Labour Government to tell us.
§ Mr. BrazierAlthough unemployment is desperately sad for the individuals concerned, would not it be astonishing if this country were to look for solutions to the problems in countries with much higher unemployment, when their policies have failed so conspicuously? That seems to be the policy advocated by the Opposition.
§ Miss WiddecombeThat is exactly the policy advocated by the Opposition. They are refreshingly honest sometimes. The deputy Leader of the Opposition tells us that a minimum wage will cause shake-out. Will he be explicit and tell us that what will be shaken is people, and what they will be out of is jobs?
§ Following is the table:
| Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment Rates in EU Countries | ||
| Latest Month | ||
| Austria | N/A | |
| Belgium | 9.9 | December |
| Denmark | 9.3 | December |
| Germany1 | — | |
| Greece2 | — | |
| Finland3 | 17.2 | December |
| Spain | 22.6 | December |
| France | 11.3 | December |
| Ireland | 17.6 | December |
| Italy | 12.2 | December |
| Luxembourg | 3.5 | December |
| Netherlands | 10.0 | November |
| Portugal | 6.2 | December |
| Sweden3 | 8.2 | January |
| United Kingdom | 8.9 | January |
| EU(12) Average | 10.8 | December |
| 1 No ILO rate available for unified Germany. | ||
| 2 Only 1991 annual average figures available for Greece. | ||
| 3 Only OECD unemployment rates are available for Finland and Sweden. | ||
| N/A Not available. |
§ Source: Statistical Office of the European Community Unemployment Bulletin, (except Finland and Sweden—OECD). Latest available data—subject to revision.
§ Eurostat—the Statistical Office of the European Community, or SOEC—is currently negotiating with the OECD for both organisations to compile unemployment statistics on a common basis. Because of this, Eurostat has not issued any new figures this 1521 month. The figures quoted are those released last month, except in the case of the United Kingdom figures which are based on a methodology which is common to both organisations.
§ Next month, Eurostat is expected to re-establish its normal publication schedule and issue figures for all EU members based on this common methodology.
§ Note in particular, that the United Kingdom "Youth" unemployment rate has been revised upwards as a result of this review of methodology.