§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the level of long-term unemployment in the Province.
§ Mr. ViggersAt 9 October 1986, 64,251 claimants had been continuously unemployed for more than one year in Northern Ireland, representing 49.2 per cent of unemployed claimants in the Province on that date.
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§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the level of unemployment in Belfast at the latest date; and what were the figures for December 1979.
§ Mr. ViggersAt 9 October 1986 there were 41,994 unemployed claimants in the Belfast employment service jobmarket area. At 6 December 1979 there were 21,325 people registered as unemployed in the Belfast jobmarket area. Figures are not comparable due to changes in the method of counting.
§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures are being taken to reduce unemployment in the Province; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ViggersGovernment measures are extensive and operate in a wide field. They include the substantial measures to secure new jobs in Northern Ireland through the Industrial Development Board, the Local Enterprise Development Unit and through a unique framework of financial assistance, distributed to that end. They also include a variety of employment measures such as Action for Community Employment, Enterprise Ulster, the new workers scheme, jobclubs, the restart programme and the enterprise allowance scheme.
§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the level of youth unemployment in the Province at the latest date; and what were the figures in December 1979.
§ Mr. ViggersAt 9 October 1986, 49,356 unemployed claimants in Northern Ireland were under 25 years old; 5,940 of these claimants were under 18 years old. At January 1980 (figures for December 1979 are not available) 26,899 unemployed people under 25 years old, of whom 5,111 were under 18 years old, were registered at employment service jobmarkets in Northern Ireland. Figures are not comparable due to changes in the method of counting.
§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if any further measures are to be introduced to help reduce the level of long-term unemployment in the Province.
§ Mr. ViggersI have recently increased the number of restart courses on the programme from 11 to 19 and I intend to provide more jobclubs in the Province. I am considering what further measures might be appropriate, including the possible further extension of the restart programme, taking account of the pilot projects now under way in the rest of the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the measures to reduce youth unemployment in the Province.
§ Mr. ViggersI keep under constant review, and commission specific evaluations of, all measures introduced both to reduce youth unemployment and to assist young unemployed to get jobs or to become self-employed.
§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the level of unemployment in the Province at the latest date; and what were the comparable figures for December 1979.
§ Mr. ViggersAt 9 October 1986 there were 130,635 unemployed claimants in Northern Ireland, representing490W 19.3 per cent. of the working population. This compares with an estimated claimant figure of 60,200 at December 1979, representing 8.8 per cent. of the working population.
§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) if he will list the unemployment levels in Northern Ireland constituencies at the latest date;
(2) if he will list the current level of unemployment in the Province on a constituency basis.
§ Mr. ViggersThe numbers of unemployed claimants in each parliamentary constituency in Northern Ireland at 9 October 1986 are as follows:
Parliamentary constituency Male Female Total Belfast East 3,504 1,556 5,060 Belfast North 6,646 2,315 8,961 Belfast South 4,350 2,215 6,565 Belfast West 9,755 2,533 12,288 East Antrim 4,932 2,223 7,155 East Londonderry 6,948 2,472 9,420 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 6,374 2,247 8,621 Foyle 9,552 2,512 12,064 Lagan Valley 4,439 2,085 6,524 Mid-Ulster 6,525 2,343 8,868 Newry and Armagh 6,468 2,385 8,853 North Antrim 5,088 2,077 7,165 North Down 2,850 1,639 4,489 South Antrim 4,223 2,020 6,243 South Down 4,506 2,168 6,674 Strangford 2,759 1,671 4,430 Upper Bann 5,019 2,236 7,255 Northern Ireland Totals 93,938 36,697 130,635