Mr. Michael J. FosterTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the youth unemployment figures on(a) 1 May 1997 and (b) 1 February 2000 for the following wards within the City of Worcester (i) St. Johns, (ii) St. Clement, (iii) Bedwardine, (iv) Claines, (v) St. Stephen, (vi) St. Barnabas, (vii) St. Martin, (viii) Holy Trinity, (ix) Nunney, (x) St. Peter, (xi) All Saints and (xii) St. Nicholas; and if he will make a statement. [113271]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Michael J. Foster, dated 8 March 2000:
As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question on unemployment in Worcester.The ONS publishes a monthly count of claimants of unemployment-related benefits. The claimant count consists of all people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance or National Insurance credits at Employment Service local offices. They must declare that they are out of work, capable of, available for and actively seeking work during the week in which the claim is made.Information on the levels of computerised claims by age for wards can be obtained from the Nomis database at the House of Commons Library. Computerised claims do not include clerical claims which currently make up about one per cent. of the total claimant count. Claimant count statistics for February 2000 will be released on 15 March 2000.