HC Deb 26 June 1978 vol 952 cc392-3W
Mr. Knox

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for each quarter since 1970 the seasonally adjusted total of employees in employment in the United Kingdom and show for each quarter the percentage increase or decrease on the corresponding quarter in the previous year.

Mr. Golding

The information requested is shown in the following table:

Mr. Knox

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest comparable percentage figures for unemployment in each of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries for which adjusted unemployment rates are available from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development sources.

Mr. Golding

The OECD publish comparable seasonally adjusted rates of unemployment for 12 of the 24 member countries. The latest information, for the third quarter of 1977 is as follows:

United States 6.9
Japan 2.2*
Germany 3.6*
France 5.7*
United Kingdom 8.1*
Canada 8.2
Italy 7.9*
Australia 5.5
Finland 6.2
Norway 1.9†
Spain 5.2†
Sweden 1.9
*Adjusted to international definitions by the OECD.
†Provisional.

The rate for the United Kingdom is under review by the OECD.