§ Mr. Adleyasked the Secretary of State for Employment what co-ordination is undertaken to ensure that information relating to those (a) entitled to and (b) actually claiming unemployment benefit, validates comparisons on unemployment and employment statistics within the European Economic Community and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkUnemployment figures for EC or OECD member states obtained directly from administrative sources are not generally comparable, although they can be useful for comparing the latest trends. The labour force survey, a sample survey of households which is conducted at least every two years in EC countries, provides a consistent basis for comparison of unemployed people seeking work in those countries. The OECD use various sources, usually household survey information supplemented by the latest figures from administrative sources, to estimate standardised unemployment rates for major OECD countries, according to guidelines of the International Labour Organisation.