§ Lord McCarthyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will give the latest available comparisons of unemployment rates between selected countries in terms of the OECD standardised rates, on the basis of those set out in Table 2.18 of the Employment Gazette.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Employment (Viscount Ullswater)Following is a table which gives the latest available internationally comparable unemployment rates for the countries for which OECD produce standardised rates.
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Comparisons of unemployment between OECD countries + Standardised unemployment rates seasonally adjusted Percentage rate Latest month Ireland 16.3 August Spain 15.6 May Canada 10.5 August Italy 10.0 April United Kingdom 10.0 August Australia 9.8 July France 9.5 July Finland 8.2 July Belgium 7.8 August United States 6.7 August Netherlands 6.6 June Norway 5.3 May Germany (FR)+ 4.6 July Portugal 4.2 February Sweden 2.8 August Japan 2.2 July OECD Total 6.9 July Major 7 6.5 July Source: OECD "Main Economic Indicators". + There are no reliable figures available as yet for a unified Germany, the rate quoted is for what was formerly West Germany.
§ Lord McCarthyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will give the latest available comparisons of unemployment rates between EC countries, on the basis of those set out at H.C. Deb. Col. 784 of 29th January 1991—including those based on "harmonised" rates, as calculated by the Statistical Office of the European Commission (Eurostat).
Comparisons of unemployment between EC countries SOEC harmonised rates OECD standardised rates Percentage rate Latest month Percentage rate Latest month Ireland 17.8 August 16.3 August Spain 15 .3 August 15 6 May Italy 10.0 August 10.0 April France 9.8 August 9.5 July United Kingdom 9.1 August 10.0 August Denmark 8.8 August — — Belgium 8.7 August 7.8 August Greece1 7.5 1990 — — Netherlands — — 6.6 June Portugal 4.4 February 4.2 February Luxembourg 2.0 August — — Germany (Federal Republic)2 4.7 August 4.6 July EC average 8.9 August 8.7 July Source: OECD "Main Economic Indicators", and Eurostat "Unemployment" Bulletins. OECD do not provide standardised rates for Denmark, Greece and Luxembourg. Eurostat do not provide rate for Netherlands (now on a new basis). 1 There are no recent comparable monthly figures available for Greece. The figure quoted is for the spring of 1990. 2 There are no reliable figures available as yet for a unified Germany. The rate quoted is for what was formerly West Germany.
§ Lord McCarthyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Why if "harmonised rates" are both available and reliable, they cannot be included in future versions of Table 2.18.
§ Viscount UllswaterThe Statistical Office of the European Communities (SOEC) produce unemployment rates, based on the ILO guidelines, for the 12 Member states of the European Communities. Table 2.18 in the Employment Gazette gives unemployment figures for OECD countries, including EC Members. In order to provide meaningful comparisons for the fullest possible range of countries, the most recent standardised rates produced by the OECD are used. Given the lags in the OECD receiving and subsequently publishing these rates, figures based on national definitions are included to provide the most up to date indication of relative trends.
§ Lord McCarthyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will give details of the method of calculating "harmonised" rates, in the light of footnote 1, of Table 2.18, which states that unemployment rates for those countries "are not directly comparable" with each other "due to differences in coverage and method of comparisons".
§ Viscount UllswaterThe harmonised rates provided by the Statistical Office of the European Community (SOEC) use the latest available Community Labour Force Survey results, which calculate unemployment according to the guidelines laid down by the International Labour Office (ILO).
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§ Viscount UllswaterBelow is a table which gives the latest available internationally comparable unemployment rates for the 12 member states of the European Community, as published by the European Commission.
The ILO definition of the unemployed refers to persons of working age who, in a specified period, are without work, available for work and who are seeking employment for pay or profit.
The Community labour force survey is carried out in each member state in the spring of each year. Monthly estimates of the harmonised unemployment rates are made using the trends in the corresponding national administrative unemployment series. However, in the case of Spain and Portugal, the number of unemployed taken from their quarterly labour force surveys is used to make the monthly estimates since these are considered by SOEC to be the best national indicators of unemployment.
For a more detailed explanation of the method of calculation, I refer the noble Lord to, 'Unemployment Rates for Comparison Between Member States: Methods and Definitions' published by Eurostat.