§ Mr. Ian Stewartasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is his estimate of the number of persons aged 16 to 18 years who are unemployed in Hertford-shire but not registered as such.
§ Mr. GoldingI regret that it is impossible to make reliable estimates of this kind. Information about levels of unemployment can only be obtained from official statistics of those registered as unemployed at offices of the Employment Service Agency or careers offices of local education authorities. Statistics which analyse the unemployed by age group are collected only in January and July, but on 11th November 1976 the 853 persons registered with the careers service in Hertfordshire would include the bulk of those under 18 years of age registered as unemployed in the county on that date.