§ 14. Miss WiddecombeTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people classed as long-term unemployed have found jobs since January 1986; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. LeeBetween January 1986 and July 1988 over 2 million people who had been claiming benefits for a year or more ceased to be unemployed in the United Kingdom. Information on the destination of those leaving the count is not available.
§ 15. Mr. OppenheimTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current rate of unemployment; and what was the rate in June 1983.
§ 21. Mr. TraceyTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the current levels of unemployment in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. FowlerIn September 1988, the unemployment rate in the United Kingdom was 8 per cent. The comparable rate for June 1983 was 10.8 per cent. By the June 1987 general election the rate had already fallen to 10.4 per cent. The fall since then has been larger than in any other industrial country.
§ 27. Mr. HoltTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will provide unemployment figures for the 12 months ending September 1987 and the 12 months ended September 1988.
§ Mr. LeeThe table shows seasonally adjusted unemployment excluding school leavers in the United Kingdom for the 12 months ending September 1987 and for the 12 months ending September 1988. The September figure includes some temporary over recording.
Seasonally adjusted unemployment, excluding school leavers. thousands Number Change over previous 12 months September 1986 3,185.7 +63.0 September 1987 2,772.2 -413.5 September 1988 2,266.9 -505.3
§ 30. Mr. AmessTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest unemployment figures for the constituency of Basildon and for the same period in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. LeeThe table shows the number of unemployed claimants in the parliamentary constituency of Basildon in September of each year since 1983. The comparison is affected by the change in the compilation of the unemployment statistics in March 1986. The September 1988 figure includes some temporary over recording.
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Number of unemployed claimants in the parliamentary constituency of Basildon Month Year Number September 1983 6,532 September 1984 7,050 September 1985 6,634 September 1986 6,157
Month Year Number September 1987 5,032 September 1988 3,495
§ 50. Mr. HaywardTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the levels of unemployment in the south-west of England.
§ Mr. LeeIn September 1988 seasonally adjusted unemployment excluding school leavers in the south-west was 131,000 compared with 167,700 in September 1987, a fall of 36,000 or 21.8 per cent. over the last 12 months. The September 1988 figure includes some temporary over-recording due to the postal strike.
§ 53. Mr. SumbergTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the rate of unemployment among school leavers in Lancashire in 1987; and what was the figure for the preceding five years.
§ Mr. LeeFollowing is the available information. The table shows the annual average number of unemployed claimants in Lancashire aged under 18 who had not entered employment since leaving full-time education for each year from 1983 to 1987.
Unemployment rates for school-leavers are not available Unemployed claimants 1983 2,548 1984 2,159 1985 2,251 1986 2,004 1987 1,282
§ 57. Mr. DevlinTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the levels of unemployment in the northern region of England.
§ Mr. LeeIn September 1988 seasonally adjusted unemployment excluding school leavers was 171,000 in the north region, compared with 200,900 in September of 1987, a fall of 29,000 or 14.9 per cent. over the last 12 months. The September 1988 figure includes some temporary over-recording due to the postal strike.
60. Mr. Andy StewartTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are currently employed in the east midlands region; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. LeeIn June 1988, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 1.782,000 people in the civilian work force in employment in the east midlands region. This represents a net increase of 198,000, or 13 per cent. over the last five years. The civilian work force in employment is the sum of employees in employment, the self-employed and participants in work-related Government training programmes.
§ 62. Mr. Roger KingTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest figure for unemployment in the west midlands and what were the figures 12 months ago.
§ Mr. LeeIn September 1988 seasonally adjusted unemployment excluding school leavers in the west midlands region was 224,700, compared with 284,200 in September 1987, a fall of 59,500 over the last 12 months 179W and the lowest since January 1981. The September 1988 figure includes some temporary over-recording due to the postal strike.
§ 69. Sir Marcus FoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on unemployment in Yorkshire.
§ Mr. LeeIn September 1988, the number of unemployed claimants in the counties of South Yorkshire, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire was 189,503, a fall of 40,127 compared with a year ago. The September 1988 figure includes some temporary over-recording due to the postal strike.
§ 73. Mr. Anthony CoombsTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the number of people unemployed in the United Kingdom.
§ 104. Mr. Brandon-BravoTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are currently unemployed in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.
§ 136. Mr. LathamTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will make a statement on the current level of unemployment.
§ Mr. LeeIn September 1988 the level of seasonally adjusted unemployment excluding school leavers in the United Kingdom was 2,267,000, the lowest level on a consistent basis since May 1981. The September figure includes some temporary over-recording but even so unemployment has now fallen for 26 consecutive months, by over 940,000 in total since July 1986, the longest and largest continuous fall on record since 1945.
§ 80. Mr. HaselhurstTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the level of unemployment in East Anglia.
§ Mr. LeeIn September 1988 seasonally adjusted unemployment excluding school leavers in the East Anglia region was 49,200, compared with 68,100 in September 1987, a fall of 18,900 over the last twelve months and the lowest since January 1981. The September 1988 figure includes some temporary over-recording due to the postal strike.
§ 87. Mr. David EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment which three counties in England and Wales have the lowest levels of unemployment; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. LeeThe table shows the three counties with the lowest number of unemployed claimants in England and Wales in September 1988. The September figure includes some temporary over-recording.
Counties in England and Wales with the lowest unemployment levels County Unemployed claimants Powys 3,112 Isle of Wight 4,101 Oxfordshire 8,412
§ 103. Mr. GalbraithTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of the work force were part-time(a) in 1979 and (b) at the latest available date.
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§ 123. Mr. FatchettTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of(a) male and (b) female workers were part-time in (a) 1979 and (b) at the latest available date.
§ 126. Mr. SteinbergTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of the work force were part-time(a) in 1979 and (b) at the latest available date.
§ Mr. LeeIn June 1979 a total of 19 per cent. of the work force in employment in Great Britain (6 per cent. of males and 41 per cent. of females) were working part time. In June 1988, the latest date for which figures are available, 25 per cent. (9 per cent. of males and 45 per cent. of females) were working part time.
The work force in employment is the sum of employees in employment, the self-employed, members of Her Majesty's forces and participants in work-related Government training programmes. In classifying the workforce between full and part-time all programme participants are counted as in part-time employment.
§ 105. Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of 16 to 19-year-olds were working part-time in 1979 and at the latest available date.
§ Mr. NichollsI refer the hon. Member to the reply given earlier to the hon. Member for Newcastle-Under-Lyme (Mrs. Golding).
§ 108. Mr. Michael BrownTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the reduction of long-term unemployment since January 1986.
§ Mr. LeeOn 14 July 1988 the number of unemployed claimants who had been unemployed for one year or more was 948,232 a fall of 423,426 or 44.7 per cent. since January 1986. The change will be affected by seasonal factors, and slightly by the change in the compilation in March 1986.
§ 111. Ms. RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of(a) men and (b) women were unemployed in Lewisham in 1979 and at the latest available date.
§ Mr. LeeThe information requested is not available. Unemployment rates are not calculated for areas smaller than travel-to-work areas.
§ 122. Mr. GaleTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a further statement on the current levels of employment in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. LeeBetween March 1983 and June 1988 the work force in employment in the United Kingdom increased by 2,178,000 to 25,739,000, the highest level on record. This rising trend has now continued for more than five years. The figures have been adjusted for the effects of seasonal variations. The work force in employment is the sum of employees in employment, the self-employed, Her Majesty's forces, and participants in work-related Government training programmes.
§ 129. Mrs. WiseTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of women workers were working less than 16 hours per week in 1976 and at the latest available date.
§ Mr. LeeIt is estimated from the labour force survey that 14.2 per cent. of women in employment in Great 181W Britain usually worked 16 hours or less per week in spring 1979 (the earliest year for which data is available). An equivalent figure for the spring of 1987 was 19.2 per cent.
§ 135. Mr. DuffyTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the level of unemployment in South Yorkshire in 1987; and how this compares with 1978.
§ Mr. LeeIn 1987 the annual average number of unemployed claimants in South Yorkshire was 97,530. Consistent figures are not available for 1978, but there were 36,325 people registered unemployed at jobcentres in that year.