§ Mr. Skinnerasked the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of the potential work force became unemployed from June 1979 to June 1982 in the following countries: (a) the United Kingdom, (b) France, (c) West Germany, (d) Canada and (e) the United States of America.
§ Mr. AlisonThe following is the information:
Increase in seasonally adjusted unemployment percentage rate: national definitions Percentage Points United Kingdom* 6.8 France† 3.4 West Germany† 3.8 Canada‡ 3.5 United States‡ 3.8 * New basis—claimants—excluding school leavers; rates are calculated as a percentage of total employees—employed plus unemployed.
† Numbers registered at employment offices, expressed as a percentage of total employees—employed plus unemployed.
‡ Labour force sample survey; rates are expressed as a percentage of the civilian labour force.
Source: OECD "Main Economic Indicators" supplemented by Labour Attache reports and so on.
§ Mr. Wardellasked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the rate of increase between April 184W 1979 and October 1982 in the number of persons registered as unemployed for more than two years for (a) England, (b) each county in England ranked from highest to lowest and (c) each of the economic regions.
§ Mr. Alison[pursuant to his reply, 24 November 1982, c. 488]: The following table gives the percentage increases between April 1979 and October 1982 in the numbers registered as unemployed for over 104 weeks.
Percentage increase England 168.3 County Buckinghamshire 372.2 West Midlands Metropolitan 337.1 Northamptonshire 291.8 Cleveland 276.6 Staffordshire 259.1 Leicestershire 232.6 Berkshire 223.7 South Yorkshire Metropolitan 214.0 Greater Manchester Metropolitan 203.1 Greater London 201.6 West Yorkshire Metropolitan 198.6 Nottinghamshire 195.0 Shropshire 188.8 Cheshire 186.7 Derbyshire 180.5 Bedfordshire 179.6 Hertfordshire 179.0 Lancashire 156.1 Hereford and Worcester 148.6 Essex 143.8 Kent 143.3 Warwickshire 142.0 Wiltshire 140.1 Durham 137.0 Lincolnshire 136.4 Cambridgeshire 134.2 Humberside 131.0 Norfolk 128.3 Surrey 128.0 Devon 127.8 East Sussex 122.2 Gloucestershire 121.7 Oxfordshire 120.7 Somerset 116.3 Cumbria 112.4 Suffolk 110.4 Dorset 108.6 Merseyside Metropolitan 106.4 Avon 104.9 West Sussex 99.9 Hampshire 96.8 Isle of Wight 89.8 Tyne and Wear Metropolitan 89.3 Northumberland 77.2 North Yorkshire 72.7 Cornwall 70.3 Region South East 169.3 East Anglia 124.2 South West 111.0 West Midlands 281.9 East Midlands 199.5 Yorkshire and Humberside 176.5 North West 145.4 North 128.3
§ Mr. Winnickasked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the highest percentage rate for unemployment for the Walsall travel-to-work area prior to 185W May 1979; and if he will give the percentage rate for October 1979, October 1980, October 1981 and October 1982.
§ Mr. Alison[pursuant to his reply, 26 November 1982, c. 593]: Prior to May 1979, the highest rate of unemployment in the Walsall travel-to-work area, based on the current definition of the area, was 7.3 per cent. at August 1977. The corresponding rates at October each year from 1979 were as follows:
October each year Per cent. 1979 6.1 1980 10.8 1981 17.1 1982 18.9 The rate for unemployed claimants in the area—from now on the count is based on claimants—was 18.0 per cent. at October 1982.