§ Mrs. Winifred Ewingasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards the report on youth unemployment compiled by the EEC Commission; what proposals he has to improve the situation; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John FraserMy officials in cooperation with their colleagues in other member States of the European Community, are studying the report to assess its implications, including the possibility of action at community level. The Government have, of course, taken a number of measures to mitigate the employment problems of young people, including those announced yeserday by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
§ Mr. Arnold Shawasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many of the members of minority groups registered as unemployed in November 1974 and November 1975 were registered at careers offices and how many at employment exchanges; how many of each area of origin were registered at careers offices and employment exchanges; and whether he will publish this information regularly in the Department of Employment Gazette.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerThe information available, which relates to members of certain racial minority groups registered as unemployed, is shown in the following table:
439WI regret that fully comparable information is not available for these two periods because, as a consequence of industrial action, details in respect of November 1974 do not include those unemployed who were registered at certain employment offices in the West Midlands.
It has been estimated that the total number of the ethnic minority groups unemployed in Great Britain was 16,011 but similar estimates by country of origin are not available. The table also excludes figures for unemployed young persons in Liverpool which are not available.
Further statistics about unemployed coloured workers for the two periods are contained in the Department of Employment Gazette for January 1975 and January 1976 respectively. I should like
Average gross weekly earnings in manufacturing industries Full-time manual men (aged 21 and over) Full-time manual women (aged 18 and over) Index of retail prices Average £ Percentage increase since previous October Average £ Percentage increase since previous October Percentage increase since previous October October 1973 … … … 41.52 14.7 21.15 15.3 9.9 October 1974 … … … 49.12 18.3 27.05 27.9 17.1 October 1975 … … … 59.74 21.6 34.23 26.5 25.9