§ Mrs. Ewingasked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity 360W where are the worst pockets of unemployment in Scotland; how many people are involved; how long the problem has lasted already; what steps she is taking to cure it; and when she expects to find a permanent cure.
§ Mr. FernyhoughThe highest levels of unemployment in Scotland are in the Highlands and Islands, where unemployment has been a persistent problem since before the war; the Special Development Areas at Girvan, Lesmahagow and Sanquhar, which have been affected by colliery closures in recent years; Newton Stewart and Stranraer where the loss of traditional sources of employment has not yet been made good by new industry; and Anstruther, Nairn and Rothesay which are affected by seasonal factors. The number registered as unemployed in these areas on 11th November, 1968, was 9,567. The various Government measures taken to assist the Development Areas are expected to produce a marked reduction in the disparity between the level of unemployment in Scotland and in Great Britain as a whole over the next three years.
§ Mrs. Ewingasked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity what is the current number of vacancies per 100 unemployed persons in the West Midlands, East Midlands, and South-East Regions, and in Scotland, respectively.
§ Mr. FernyhoughFollowing is the information:
Notified vacancies remaining unfilled to every hundred persons registered as wholly unemployed at November, 1968 West Midlands … … 57 East Midlands … … 67 South East … … 88 Scotland … … 22 The above figures take account only of those vacancies notified to employment exchanges and, therefore, do not provide a measure of total demand for labour. Nor do the registered unemployment totals provide a full measure of those who might be available for employment, especially for women.
§ Mrs. Ewingasked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity how many new jobs will be needed in Scotland by 1973 to compensate for redundancies in shipyards and collieries.
361W
§ Mr. FernyhoughThough some further reduction in coalmining is expected no figures are yet available of the extent of redundancy to which this will give rise over the period stated. In shipbuilding, while some re-allocation of labour is currently taking place within shipyards on the Clyde, no forecasts of reduncancy can be made up to 1973.
§ Mrs. Ewingasked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity why 1,402 school-leavers were registered as unemployed in Scotland on 9th September, 1968, in view of the fact that overall there are more vacancies for school-leavers than there are unemployed school-leavers.
INDUSTRIAL ANALYSIS OF THE NUMBER OF PERSONS REGISTERED AS UNEMPLOYED IN THE. AREA COVERED BY THE ABERDEEN EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGE 11th November, 1968 Men 18 and over Boys under 18 Women 18 and over Girls under 18 Total Agriculture and horticulture 62 1 — — 63 Fishing 77 — — — 77 Bacon curing, meat and fish products 72 8 8 1 89 Shipbuilding and ship repairing 30 — — — 30 Spinning and doubling of cotton, flax and man-made fibres 11 — 2 1 14 Bricks, pottery, glass, cement, etc. 28 — — — 28 Timber 18 2 — 1 21 Construction 255 1 4 — 260 Sea transport 50 6 — — 56 Distributive trades 211 10 56 10 287 Entertainment and sport 32 — 2 1 35 Catering, hotels, etc. 81 1 30 2 114 Private domestic service 5 — 10 — 15 Local government service 127 — 10 — 137 Other industries and services 672 7 132 4 815 Total. all industries and services 1,731 36 254 20 2,041 362W
13th November, 1967 Men 18 and over Boys under 18 Women 18 and over Girls under 18 Total Agriculture and horticulture 86 1 — — 87 Fishing 89 3 — — 92 Bacon curing, meat and fish products 66 6 20 3 95 Shipbuilding and ship repairing 57 1 — — 58 Spinning and doubling of cotton, flax and man-made fibres 18 1 3 — 22 Bricks, pottery, glass. cement, etc. 10 — 1 — 11 Timber 23 4 — 1 28 Construction 218 — 3 — 221 Sea transport 80 6 — — 86 Distributive trades 181 6 58 4 249 Entertainment and sport 30 — 3 1 34 Catering, hotels. etc. 77 — 42 1 120 Private domestic service 1 — 7 1 9 Local government service 159 — 5 — 164 Other industries and services 665 14 138 7 824 Total, all industries and services 1,760 42 280 18 2,100
§ Mr. FernyhoughSchool-leavers may not be able to take advantage of unfilled vacancies either because their qualifications or aptitudes do not correspond to employers' needs or because the vacancies are in areas too far away from their homes. In fact the number of school-leavers registered as unemployed in Scotland had dropped to 358 by 11th November.
§ Mr. Hector Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity if she will state to the latest convenient date the numbers of unemployed in Aberdeen during each of the last five years by sexes, ages and trades.
§ Mr. Fernyhough
14th November 1966 Men 18 and over Boys under 18 Women 18 and over Girls under 18 Total Agriculture and horticulture 85 — 3 — 88 Fishing 76 1 — — 77 Bacon curing, meat and fish products 59 1 29 — 89 Shipbuilding and ship repairing 46 — — — 46 Spinning and doubling of cotton, flax and man-made fibres 15 — 7 1 23 Bricks, pottery, glass, cement, etc. 28 — — — 28 Timber 31 1 — — 32 Construction 181 1 5 — 187 Sea transport 73 1 — — 74 Distributive trades 186 3 101 2 292 Entertainment and sport 37 — 6 1 44 Catering, hotels, etc 71 1 41 3 116 Private domestic service 3 — 23 — 26 Local government service 160 — 10 — 170 Other industries and services 553 9 173 3 738 Total, all industries and services 1,604 18 398 10 2,030
8th November 1965 Men 18 and over Boys under 18 Women 18 and over Girls under 18 Total Agriculture and horticulture 56 — 2 — 58 Fishing 78 1 2 — 81 Bacon curing, meat and fish products 43 5 32 4 84 Shipbuilding and ship repairing 31 1 — — 32 Spinning and doubling of cotton, flax and man-made fibres 16 — 11 2 29 Bricks, pottery, glass, cement, etc. 16 — 3 — 19 Timber 37 — 3 — 40 Construction 136 2 1 — 139 Sea transport 99 6 — — 105 Distributive trades 165 6 128 7 306 Entertainment and sport 28 1 11 — 40 Catering, hotels, etc. 76 1 63 1 141 Private domestic service 3 — 32 — 35 Local government service 112 — 11 — 123 Other industries and services 503 5 293 3 804 Total, all industries and services 1,399 28 592 17 2,036 364W365W
9th November, 1964 Men 18 and over Boys under 18 Women 18 and over Girls under 18 Total Agriculture and horticulture 114 4 1 1 120 Fishing 101 1 — — 102 Bacon curing, meat and fish products 74 2 45 3 124 Shipbuilding and ship repairing 65 — 2 — 67 Spinning and doubling of cotton, flax and man-made fibres 22 — 12 — 34 Bricks, pottery, glass, cement, etc. 36 — — — 36 Timber 62 2 — — 64 Construction 197 — 3 — 200 Sea transport 92 4 — — 96 Distributive trades 216 3 169 3 391 Entertainment and sport 40 — 15 1 56 Catering, hotels, etc. 88 1 69 4 162 Private domestic service 7 — 23 — 30 Local government service 133 — 25 — 158 Other industries and services 576 7 313 14 910 Total, all industries and services 1,823 24 677 26 2,550
11th November, 1963 Men 18 and over Boys under 18 Women 18 and over Girls under 18 Total Agriculture and horticulture 135 9 8 1 153 Fishing 245 1 — — 246 Bacon curing, meat and fish products 72 3 50 6 131 Shipbuilding and ship repairing 58 1 — — 59 Spinning and doubling of cotton, flax and man-made fibres 20 — 28 1 49 Bricks, pottery, glass cement, etc. 45 — — 1 46 Timber 52 2 — — 54 Construction 213 2 1 — 216 Sea transport 111 3 — — 114 Distributive trades 261 6 180 16 463 Entertainment and sport 62 1 17 1 81 Catering, hotels, etc. 112 2 69 2 185 Private domestic service 11 — 37 1 49 Local government service 173 — 29 — 202 Other industries and services 672 6 329 22 1,029 Total, all industries and services 2,242 36 748 51 3,077