§ Mr. Tierneyasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many young persons who left school in the city of Birmingham in the last 12 months have not yet been placed in employment;
(2)what is the estimated number of job opportunities for young persons leaving school in the city of Birmingham at the end of the present school term, including those available through Government schemes;
(3)how many school leavers will be registering for employment in the city of Birmingham at the end of the present school term.
§ Mr. GoldingI regret that I am unable to supply the precise information. In June there were 1,979 school leavers registered as unemployed in the City of Birmingham, but the statistics do not 239W identify the dates on which they left school. It is estimated that of about 2,000 Easter leavers between 500–600 registered as unemployed, but it is not known how many of these were still unemployed in June. About 20,000 young people are expected to be leaving school to seek employment this summer, and about 600 of these have so far registered for employment.
It is not possible to make reliable estimates of job opportunities for this year's leavers, but in June the number of vacancies for young people remaining unfilled was 2,969. In the normal course the placing of summer leavers into employment is spread over a period of several months and many employers have not yet completed their recruitment programmes. The special measures introduced by the Government to alleviate unemployment have been extended and expanded to meet the needs of school leavers who have difficulty in obtaining jobs.
Scheme Numbers benefited Estimated cost £ Temporary Employment Subsidy … … … 18,762 17,700,000 Temporary Employment Subsidy (Supplement) … … … (77 included in figure above) 18,500 Job Creation Programme … … … 9,226 13,700,000 Work Experience Scheme … … … 2,510 1,100,000 Recruitment Subsidy for School Leavers … … … 2,529 253,000 Youth Employment Subsidy … … … 1,954 455,000 Job Release Scheme … … … 1,483 428,000 36,464 33,654,500
The time limits for the receipt of assistance under the current schemes are as follows: Scheme Maximum period of benefit Commencement date Closing date for applications Temporary Employment Subsidy 12 months 18th August 1975 31st March 1978 Temporary Employment Subsidy (Supplement) 6 months 30th March 1977 31st March 1978 Job Creation 12 months 9th October 1975 31st August 1977 Work Experience Scheme normally 12 months 21st September 1976 31st August 1977 Youth Employment Subsidy 26 weeks 1st October 1976 31st August 1977 Job Release Scheme (appropriate to Assisted Areas only) 12 months 3rd January 1977 30th June 1977