§ Mr. Cantasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish any available statistics giving information about the percentage unemployment of women in the age groups 16 to 24 years, 25 to 44 years and over 44 years.
§ Mr. GoldingBecause the necessary employment analyses by age are not at present available I regret that percentage unemployment rates for particular age groups cannot be given. An attempt to obtain the employment analyses referred to is being made. The following table, which shows the information for July 1976, the latest date for which an age analysis of the unemployed is available, gives the totals of females registered as unemployed together with the percentages of the total for the different age groups:
FEMALES REGISTERED AS UNEMPLOYED IN GREAT BRITAIN Age Number Percentage of total number of females unemployed Up to 24 years … 243,013 65.4 25–44 years … 77,706 20.9 45 years and over … 51,039 13.7 Total, all ages … 371,758 100.0