Mr. Jim Callaghanasked the Secretary of State for Employment what vacancies for skilled workers are currently available at the latest available date and three years earlier.
§ Mr. AlisonThe precise information is not available as there is no comprehensive analysis made of the numbers 263W of vacancies according to skill requirements. However, an occupational analysis of unfilled vacancies is made at employment offices, and at June 1982, in the United Kingdom as a whole, there were 17,424 notified vacancies for craft and similar occupations, including foremen, in processing, production, repairing, and so on. The corresponding figure at June 1979 was 66,417.
The figures relate only to vacancies notified to employment offices, and it is estimated that these account for about one-third of all vacancies in the economy as a whole. The number of vacancies unfilled at a particular date take no account of the flow of vacancies being notified, filled or withdrawn which would reflect activity more closely. For example, during the 12-month period to June 1982, 1,454,375 people were placed in jobs by employment offices in the United Kingdom. It is estimated that the public employment service accounts for about one in four of all placings.