HC Deb 27 February 2004 vol 418 cc598-9W
Mr. Wills

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many(a) males and (b) females aged (i) 21 to 30, (ii) 31 to 40, (iii) 41 to 50 and (iv) 51 to 60 years have been unemployed for (A) less than one month, (B) less than three months, (C) less than six months, (D) six to 12 months and (E) over 12 months; [156088]

(2) how many people aged (a) 21 to 30, (b) 31 to 40, (c) 41 to 50 and (d) 51 to 60 years are unemployed. [156089]

Ruth Kelly

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Michael Wills, dated 27 February 2004:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about numbers of people unemployed by age group and duration of unemployment. (156088 & 156089)

The attached table shows the available information for the most recent period for which data have been compiled, the three months ending in November 2003.

This information is derived from the Labour Force survey (LFS). As with any statistical sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to sampling variability.

Number of unemployed adults by sex, age and duration1 of unemployment: United Kingdom, September to November 20032
Thousands
Age group
Group 21–30 31–40 41–50 51–60
Total unemployed adults 384 306 222 172
Adults unemployed for:
Less than 3 months 201 120 85 56
3 months but less than 6 months 62 57 37 26
6 months but less than 12 months 57 50 36 28
Over 12 months 62 79 64 62
Total unemployed men 244 173 124 107
Men unemployed for:
Less than 3 months 116 55 34 28
3 months but less than 6 months 38 32 19 14
6 months but less than 12 months 43 32 26 18
Over 12 months 46 54 45 46
Total unemployed women 139 133 99 65
Women unemployed for:
Less than 3 months 85 65 51 28
3 months but less than 6 months 24 25 18 12
6 months but less than 12 months 14 18 10 10
Over 12 months 16 25 19 16
1 Duration of unemployment is defined as the length of time for which a person has been seeking work or the length of time since he or she left their most recent job (whichever is the shorter).
2 These estimates are not seasonally adjusted and have not been adjusted to reflect the 2001 Census results.
Source:
ONS Labour Force Survey