§ Mr. Cowansasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many applications and vacancies have been registered with the professional and executive recruitment service since 1st January 1975; and what is the average period of time for appointments to be filled.
§ Mr. GoldingI am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that, from 1st January 1975 to 31st October 1976, 333,188 applicants have enrolled with, and 55,089 vacancies have been notified to, PER.
Precise information is not available concerning the average period of time for filling appointments, and could not be obtained without disproportionate staff costs. A recent survey, however, indicated that, on average, appointments 162W remain current with PER for between four and six weeks.