§ Mr. Juddasked the Minister of Labour what is now the unemployment rate in Portsmouth; what categories of workers are particularly affected; how these figures compare with those for South-East England as a whole; and whether he will make a statement on the latest employment position as it affects workers declared redundant following recent decisions about closures in the area.
§ Mr. FernyhoughOn 12th February the unemployment rate for the Portsmouth travel to work area was 3.2 per cent.; the rates for the London and South-Eastern and the Eastern and Southern regions were 1.8 per cent. and 2 per cent. respectively. Categories of workers 35W particularly affected in the Portsmouth area were those last employed in the construction, engineering and transport industries and the distributive trades. The proportions these categories of workers formed of the total unemployed registers in the London and South-Eastern and the Eastern and Southern region were not significantly different from those for Portsmouth.
The redundancies recently announced have not yet taken effect although action to interview and place the workers affected has begun. Prospects of other employment for them are reasonably good.