§ Mr. Cleggasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table showing labour demand in the regions of Great Britain expressed as a ratio of unemployment to vacancies.
§ Mr. GoldingThe following table shows the numbers registered as unem-
Numbers registered as unemployed Notified unfilled vacancies at Employment Offices at Careers Offices South East … … … 325,583 56,976 10,322 East Anglia … … … 33,657 4,130 745 South west … … … 105,525 7,939 1,300 West Midlands … … … 131,694 8,044 2,676 East Midlands … … … 72,540 8,654 1,568 Yorkshire/Humberside … … … 113,397 11,218 1,795 Northwest … … … 196,439 11,923 1,683 North … … … 104,604 8,509 847 Wales … … … 79,456 5,544 666 Scotland … … … 158,028 14,776 1,059 Great Britain … … … 1,320,923 137,713 22,661
§ Mr. Ovendenasked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the overall level of unemployment in October of each year since 1965 in numerical and percentage terms; what were the corresponding figures for unemployment in the under 25 years age group; and how these figures compare with the average for all EEC countries.
§ Mr. GoldingThe available information is given in the table below. An age analysis is compiled in Great Britain only twice a year, in January and July. For comparison, other data are also given for
600Warea status, which entitles industrialists moving into the region or expanding there to financial incentives, including selected financial assistance under Section 7 of the Industry Act 1972.
§ Mr. George Grantasked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the current figures for unemployment in the Northern Region for youths between the ages of 16 and 21 years: and how these figures compare with the national figures at present and one year ago.
§ Mr. GoldingThe precise information is not available. The following table shows the numbers of unemployed persons under 20, and 20–24, years of age at July 1976, the latest date for which information is available, and at July 1975.
ployed and notified unfilled vacancies in each region at October 1976. The vacancy figures relate only to those notified to employment offices and careers offices, and are not a measure of total vacancies. Because of possible duplication the two series cannot be added together or used to provide the ratios requested.
July. I regret that rates for individual age groups cannot be supplied for Great Britain for current periods because the necessary employment analysis by age are not available: nor are they available for the EEC. The numbers under 25, however, have been expressed as a percentage of total unemployed and are shown together with corresponding estimates by the EEC from statistics of seven member countries. Owing to differences in national definitions and coverage, the statistics for Great Britain and the EEC are not directly comparable.
601W
602W
UNEMPLOYMENT IN GREAT BRITAIN AND THE EEC Great Britain* E.E.C. All ages Under 25 All ages‡ Under 25 § October July July July Mid year Year Number Unemployed Percentage Rate† Number Unemployed Percentage Rate† Number Unemployed Percentage of Total Unemployed Number Unemployed Percentage Rate† Percentage of Total Unemployed ('000) ('000) ('000) ('000) 1965 … … … … … … 309.2 1.3 275.0 1.2 65.7 23.9 1,310 1.5 NA 1966 … … … … … … 374.6 1.6 258.2 1.1 60.1 23.3 1,340 1.6 NA 1967 … … … … … … 531.6 2.3 470.2 2.0 119.8 25.5 1,820 2.1 21.3 1968 … … … … … … 538.8 2.3 499.7 2.2 114.1 22.8 1,840 2.1 22.2 1969 … … … … … … 542.6 2.4 486.6 2.1 110.7 22.7 1,620 1.8 24.0 1970 … … … … … … 576.3 2.5 527.9 2.3 126.3 23.9 1,670 1.9 25.5 1971 … … … … … … 819.1 3.7 718.9 3.2 205.9 28.6 1,960 2.2 27.0 1972 … … … … … … 789.5 3.5 775.1 3.5 228.1 29.4 2,310 2.6 27.7 1973 … … … … … … 506.8 2.2 535.4 2.4 134.4 25.1 1,970 2.2 28.1 1974 … … … … … … 610.3 2.7 542.5 2.4 149.8 27.6 2,310 2.5 30.7 1975 … … … … … … 1098.6 4.8 944.4 4.1 344.3 36.5 3,950 4.3 35.3 1976 … … … … … … 1,320.9 5.7 1,402.5 6.1 615.1 43.9 4,600 5.0 NA * Adult students are excluded throughout, partly on an estimated basis. † Numbers unemployed expressed as a percentage of total employees (employed and unemployed); for EEC countries the basis is broadly similar. ‡ Sources: OECD Main Economic Indicators and Labour Force Statistics 1962–1973, Istituto Centrale di Statistica Bollettino Mensile di Statistica. Some estimates have been made for Belgium, Ireland and Denmark for early years. Date for Luxembourg is not included. § Source: Commission of the European Communities. Figures for Ireland and Luxembourg are excluded.