§ Mr. BrightTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what the percentage fall in the number of unemployed has been in the travel-to-work area covering Luton in the last 12 months; how many people are currently registered as unemployed in Luton; and how many known job vacancies there are there.
§ Mr. LeeIn January 1989 the number of unemployed claimants in the Watford and Luton travel-to-work area414W was 12,773 compared with 20,858 in January 1988, a fall of 8,085 or 38.8 per cent. The comparison is affected by the change in coverage from September 1988 due to new benefit regulations for those people aged under 18 years. There were 4,022 unfilled vacancies at jobcentres approximately covering the Watford and Luton travel-to work area in January 1989. Vacancies at jobcentres do not represent the total number in the economy. Recent research shows that nationally only about one third of all vacancies are notified to jobcentres.