HC Deb 26 October 1971 vol 823 c301W
Mr. Edward Taylor

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many persons were unemployed in Great Britain at the most recent date for which figures are available; what percentage of the total population this figure represents; and if he has available from European Economic Community sources the comparable figures for Italy.

Mr. Dudley Smith

At 11th October there were provisionally 886,563 people registered as unemployed in Great Britain, 3.9 per cent. of the estimated total number of employees.

Strictly comparable figures for Italy are not available, but information published by the International Labour Office shows that in April, 1971, there were 566,000 persons unemployed in Italy, representing 2.9 per cent. of the labour force.