HC Deb 08 April 1976 vol 909 cc287-9W
Mr. Peter Walker

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what numbers of unemployed are registered at the following employment offices: (a) Birmingham: Aston, Birmingham Handsworth, Selly Oak, Small Heath, Sutton Cold-field, Washwood Heath; (b) Liverpool: Garston, Liverpool, Old Swan, Regent Road, Walton; and (c) Glasgow: Commercial Office, South Side, Bridgeton Easterhead, Govan, Hillington, Kinning Park, Maryhill, Parkhead, Partick, Spring-burn, and what numbers are employed in those areas.

Mr. John Fraser

Following is the information for the employment office areas specified. It should be noted that although employment and unemployment figures can be given for each of the employment office areas specified, these should not be used to calculate rates of unemployment for the separate areas. Rates are calculated by expressing the numbers unemployed as percentages of the estimated total numbers of employees, including the unemployed. Because people tend to use employment offices near their homes, the numbers unemployed can normally be regarded as based on the area of residence. Figures for those in employment, on the other hand, are compiled from returns completed by employers and are thus based on the area of work. Accordingly, where, as in the separate employment office areas within the Birmingham, Liverpool and Glasgow conurbations, considerable numbers of workers live within one local area and work in another, it is not possible to calculate from these data meaningful rates for each single area. To meet this situation, employment office areas are grouped to form travel-to-work areas, for which meaningful rates of unemployment can be calculated. At March 1976, the rates for the Birmingham, Liverpool and Glasgow travel-to-work areas were 6.8, 10.3 and 7.4, respectively.

Numbers registered as unemployed at March 1976 Employees in employment*
Birmingham
Aston 4,952 79,023
Birmingham 6,374 214,020
Handsworth 4,732 36,018
Selly Oak 8,006 94,118
Small Heath 9,759 88,299
Sutton Coldfield 1,627 18,690
Washwood Heath. 5,339 61,561
Total 40,789 591,729
Liverpool
Garston 5,184 51,776
Liverpool 15,236 194,191
Old Swan 7,161 47,087
Bootle (including Regent Road) 4,597 36,569
Walton 5,972 51,542
Total 38,150 381,165
Glasgow
Commercial 862 57,541
South Side 5,208
Bridgeton 2,585 122,536
Easterhouse 3,306
Govan 2,411 26,731
Hillington 433 16,448
Kinning Park 893 13,190
Maryhill 3,358 29,390
Parkhead 4,660 47,304
Partick 3,055 66,528
Springburn 5,705 51,902
Total 32,486 431,570
* The employment estimates for local areas are from the annual censuses of employment. For the June 1974 census, it was not possible to make reliable estimates for local areas in England and Wales following the re-organisation of local authorities and the figures shown for these areas are for June 1973. For Scottish areas, the figures are for June 1974.
† Included with Parkhead.

Mr. Maurice Macmillan

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of the population of the United Kingdom is (a) not yet at work, namely, schoolchildren and students, (b) retired and (c) available for work only for limited periods, all expressed in terms of per 1,000 population.

Mr. John Fraser

The most readily available information for the United Kingdom is from the 1971 Census of Population. This showed that per 1,000 population, 274 persons were children aged 0.14 or schoolchildren and full-time students aged 15 and over, and 98 persons were retired. I am obtaining more recent information and will publish this in the Official Report.

The Census of Population did not ask whether persons were available for work only for limited periods and I regret that this information is not available.