§ 13. Mr. Colin Shepherdasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the present level of job vacancies registered at jobcentres in the west midlands area.
§ Mr. NichollsOn 5 June 1987, the number of unfilled vacancies at jobcentres in the west midlands region was 21,300.
14. Mr. Bruceasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will produce an analysis of the figures for employees in employment to show the number in full-time and the number in part-time jobs.
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§ Mr. LeeAt March 1987 the latest estimates for employees in employment in Great Britain showed that there were 16.1 million full-time jobs and 5 million part-time jobs. This represents an increase of 121,000 full-time and 607,000 part-time jobs since March 1983. Over the same period there has been an increase of 378,000 full-time and 117,000 part-time jobs in self-employment.
§ 18. Mr. Andrew MacKayasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the current level of unemployment.
§ Mr. FowlerUnemployment in the United Kingdom now stands at 2,905,000. The seasonally adjusted total has fallen 12 months in a row to the lowest level for three and a half years.
Over the last year we have experienced a fall in unemployment of almost 300,000, the largest drop in unemployment since records were first kept. There has also been a growth of over 250,000 jobs between March 1986 and March 1987.
§ 22. Mr. Allan Robertsasked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the current levels of unemployment in the local authority areas of Liverpool, Sefton, Knowsley and St. Helens.
§ Mr. LeeThe latest figures show that the number of unemployed claimants in the local authority areas requested was as follows:
Number Liverpool 52,537 Sefton 19,028 Knowsley 17,437 St. Helens 13,108
§ 31. Mr. Redwoodasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is his latest estimate of the number of people unemployed in the United Kingdom.
§ 102. Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the latest unemployment figures.
§ 42. Mr. Burnsasked the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received relating to the fall in unemployment over the last six months; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. LeeI have received no such representations. Unemployment has fallen more quickly over the past six months than in any equivalent period since similar figures were first collected.
§ 43. Mr. Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the level of unemployment in Leicester in June 1979 and at the latest available date assessed on a comparable basis.
§ Mr. LeeOn 11 June 1987, the number of unemployed claimants in the Leicester local authority area was 17,209. Figures for local authorities are derived from the ward-based system and are available only from June 1983.
§ 47. Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will make a statement on the trends shown by the unemployment statistics.
§ Mr. LeeOver the past six months seasonally adjusted adult unemployment has fallen by a record average of152W more than 32,000 per month. Unemployment has now been falling continuously for a year, and the fall of 287,000 since June 1986 is the largest for any 12-month period since similar records began in 1948.
§ 55. Ms. Shortasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time employees there were in 1979, 1983 and at the latest available date.
§ Mr. LeeFor the dates specified the numbers of employees in full-time and part-time jobs in Great Britain were as follows.
Full-time Part-time June 1979 18,033,000 4,578,000 June 1983 16,029,000 4,527,000 March 1987 16,192,000 5,065,000
§ 68. Mr. Favellasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the latest unemployment figures for Stockport.
§ Mr. LeeOn 11 June 1987 the number of unemployed claimants in the Stockport local authority areas was 12,188.
§ 74. Mr. Loydenasked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the number of unemployed in the Merseyside travel-to-work area for June 1987.
§ Mr. LeeOn 11 June 1987 the number of unemployed claimants in the Liverpool travel-to-work area was 95,322.
§ 80. Mr. Grocottasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were unemployed in Telford (a) in May 1979 and (b) on the latest date for which figures are available.
§ Mr. LeeOn 11 June 1987, the number of unemployed claimants in Telford and Bridgnorth travel-to-work area was 10,518. Statistics of unemployment for travel-to-work areas are derived from the new ward-based system, and are available only from June 1983.
§ 87. Mr. McLeishasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people under the age of 25 years were registered as unemployed in the United Kingdom, Scotland and Fife, Central constituency at (a) June 1979, (b) June 1983 and (c) June 1987; and if he will also give the number of people on Government employment/training schemes on the same dates and for the same areas.
§ Mr. LeeThe table shows the numbers of unemployed claimants aged under 25 years in all the areas requested on 9 April 1987—the quarterly unemployment figures by age are not available for June—and in the United Kingdom and Scotland on 14 April 1983. Unemployment statistics for parliamentary constituencies are compiled using the ward-based system and are available only from June 1983. For April 1979 the figures given are the numbers of unemployed registrants in that age group.
Unemployed aged under 25 years Registrants Claimants Claimants 5 April 1979 14 April 1983 9 April 1987 Central Fife Constituency n/a n/a 1,955 Scotland 67,844 137,441 131,672 United Kingdom 451,371 1,191,760 1,025,939 Comprehensive information on the number of people on Government employment and training measures is not available in the form requested. A breakdown of the total 153W number of people who have benefited from the main employment, training and enterprise measures in 1979–80, 1983–84 and the estimate for 1987–88 is as follows:
1979–80 1983–84 11987–88 Adult training 110,538 109,850 2478,600 YOP/YTS 216,400 353,979 373,000 YWS/NWS — 130,000 25,300 CI 5,806 9,612 8,000 STEP/CP 22,400 136,968 300,000 JRS 68,164 44,045 24,700 JSS/JS — 656 1,000 EAS — 28,453 102,500 1 Estimate. 2 Includes JTS.
§ 92. Mr. Ashtonasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current number of people in full-time jobs compared to July 1979.
§ Mr. LeeIn March 1987, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 18,653,000 full-time jobs in the employed labour force in Great Britain. In June 1979—there are no estimates for July—the figure was 19,950,000.
The employed labour force is the sum of employees in employment, the self-employed, and members of Her Majesty's forces.
§ 98. Mr. Spellerasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many job vacancies there are in the Barnstaple and Ilfracombe areas at present; how many are listed as unemployed in this area; and how he intends to improve jobs opportunities there.
§ Mr. LeeOn 5 June 1987, the number of unfilled vacancies at Barnstaple and Ilfracombe jobcentres was 371, and increase of 57 per cent. on the June 1986 figure; and on 11 June 1987 there were 2,830 unemployed claimants in the Barnstaple and Ilfracombe travel-to-work area; a fall of 150, or 5 per cent., since May, and 9.7 per cent. over the year.
The Government will continue to pursue policies of sound financial management designed further to reduce inflation and to promote investment, enterprise and increased employment in Barnstaple, Ilfracombe and throughout the country. These policies have so far produced more than 1 million new jobs nationally since 1983.
My Department and the Manpower Services Commission operate over 30 employment, enterprise and training measures described in the "Action for Jobs" booklet, all of which are available in Barnstaple and Ilfracombe. In addition, we are actively working with the local authorities in north Devon and the national and regional tourist boards to maximise the tourism potential of the area.
§ 99. Mr. Flanneryasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the average percentage of unemployment throughout the United Kingdom; and what is the percentage in the Sheffield travel-to-work area.
§ Mr. LeeOn 11 June 1987, the number of unemployed claimants in the Sheffield travel-to-work area, expressed as a percentage of employees in employment plus the unemployed was 15.1 per cent. The comparable rate for the United Kingdom was 11.7 per cent. Expressed as a154W percentage of the total working population, the unemployment rate in the United Kingdom was 10.5 per cent.
§ 105. Mr. Ron Brownasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people under the age of 25 years are currently unemployed in Britain.
§ Mr. LeeOn 9 April 1987, the number of unemployed claimants under the age of 25 years in Great Britain was 981,345.