§ Mr. Storeyasked the Minister of Labour whether he will state the number of unemployed registered at the Sunderland, Pallion, and Southwick-on-Weir employment exchanges and the Sunderland juvenile employment bureau who have been unemployed for the following periods: one year but less than two years, two years but less than three years, three years but less than four years, four years but less than five years, five years and over?
§ Lieut.-Colonel MuirheadStatistics relating to the length of the last spell of unemployment are available only in respect of persons applying for insurance benefit or unemployment allowances. The number of such applicants on the registers of the offices referred to, at 25th January, 1937, who had been continuously on the registers for periods of 12 months or more were as shown below:
Period on register. Number. One year but less than two years 1,294 Two years but less than three years 1,078 Three years but less than four years 775 Four years but less than five years 868 Five years or more 2,004 Of persons who had been on the registers for extended periods a proportion, which will increase as the period on the register increases, may have had one or more short spells of employment lasting not more than three days each during such periods.