§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the latest unemployment figures.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkAt 11 October the number of unemployed claimants in the United Kingdom was 3,225,000.
The Government are concerned about the level of unemployment, and some 689,000 people are currently benefiting from our employment and training measures. However, sustainable employment depends on a healthy economy, competitive industry and a more flexible labour market. Our policies are directed to those ends and we continue to look for ways of building on what has been achieved so far.
One important influence on firms' competitiveness is the level of wages, and the Government believe that moderating the growth in real earnings will have a significant impact on unemployment.
§ Mr. Fatchettasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will provide the most recent figures for unemployment in the Leeds district by postcode areas; how many of these were women; and by how much each figure has changed in the last 12 months.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkThe information is not available in the form requested except at disproportionate cost.
328Wof workers whose pay was examined, and the percentage found to be underpaid, the number of workers paid arrears, and the total amount of arrears paid, dividing the numbers and proportions into (a) those which included a visit to the establishment and (b) those which were carried out by post.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyThe pay of workers at 5,294 establishments in Scotland covered by wages councils was checked by wages inspectors in 1983. This represents 13.7 per cent. of the number on the Wages Inspectorate's register. Details of the checks and the outcome are given in the following table.
§ Mr. Canavanasked the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the increase in the number of unemployed people since May 1979.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkOn 11 October 1984 the number of unemployed people (including school leavers) in the United Kingdom was 3,225,136, an estimated increase of 2,006,200 claimants since May 1979. The figures are affected by the 1983 Budget provisions which enable some men, mainly aged 60 and over, to receive the long-term rate of supplementary benefit and national insurance credits without having to sign on at an unemployment benefit office. Between April and August 1983 an estimated 161,800 men were affected.