§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will give the number of unemployed, job vacancies, short-time working, on 18th June, 1970, and 18th June, 1971, nationally, and for Scotland, Wales, and the North of England, respectively; and what action the Government have taken, or intend taking, since 18th June, 1971, to improve the position regarding the attainment of full employment.
§ Mr. Dudley SmithThe Government seek not only to achieve but also to maintain a high level of employment. Their views on the policies needed to secure this objective were fully expressed in the recent debate and I have no further statement to make at this time.
The answer to the first part of the Question is as follows:
TOTAL REGISTERED AS UNEMPLOYED ON 8th June, 1970 14th June, 1971 (provisional) Great Britain … 546,577 724,658 Scotland … 84,131 121,647 Wales … 33,025 40,410 Northern Region … 56,810 69,655
VACANCIES REMAINING UNFILLED ON 3rd June, 1970 9th June, 1971 (provisional) Great Britain … 295,501 197,649 Scotland … 18,629 12,023 Wales … 9,762 7,370 Northern Region … 12,940 8,816
NUMBER OF OPERATIVES ON SHORT TIME WORKING IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY April June 1970 June 1970 April 1971 Great Britain … 51,000 32,000 90,000 Scotland … Not available Wales … Not available Northern Region Not available Note: The figures of unfilled vacancies represent only the number of vacancies notified to employment exchanges and youth employment service careers offices by employers and remaining unfilled on the dates in question. The figures do not purport to represent the total outstanding requirements of all employers.