§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is his latest estimate of the numbers of (a) men, (b) women and (c) young people who are seeking work but who are not registered as unemployed.
§ Mr. Peter Morrison[pursuant to his reply, 17 July 1981, c. 189]: It is estimated that in 1979, the latest year for which data from all sources of information are available, about a third of a million people were seeking work but not registered as unemployed. About three-quarters of these were women, many of whom were looking for part-time work, but it is not known how many were young people. Later information from the general household survey suggests that the numbers may have been similar in 1980.
Various surveys over the years—the latest in 1980—have also suggested that for one reason or another some of the registered unemployed are not actively looking for work or are not concerned about being out of work; estimates of the proportion range between 10 and 20 per cent., varying in part with the coverage and timing of the surveys.
All the above figures have a degree of uncertainty reflecting sampling errors and other survey difficulties, and are not necessarily representative of the position in 1981.