HC Deb 19 January 1993 vol 217 cc181-2W
22. Ms. Eagle

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the current unemployment figures for the north-west.

Mr. McLoughlin

In November 1992 seasonally adjusted claimant unemployment in the north west was 329,100 or 10.8 per cent. of the work force.

Mr. Cox

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was(a) the total number of people registered as unemployed in the London borough of Wandsworth and (b) the total number of job vacancies registered in the London borough of Wandsworth on 11 January.

Mr. McLoughlin

The latest available data relate to 12 November 1992 for claimant unemployment and 6 November 1992 for unfilled vacancies at jobcentres. On these respective dates there were 18,334 claimant unemployed in the London borough of Wandsworth, and 136 unfilled vacancies at jobcentres covering the Wandsworth area.

Simple comparisons between the unemployment figures for a local area and the equivalent vacancy figures can be misleading because the coverage of jobcentre vacancies can vary between different occupations and different areas. Within any one area there is not necessarily a match between the location and skills of the unemployed and the location and nature of the vacancies available.