HC Deb 01 December 1977 vol 940 cc368-71W
Mr. Sillars

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table showing those employment exchange areas in the United Kingdom where more than 10 per cent. of those registered have been unemployed for more than 12 months and for more than two years.

Mr. Golding

The numbers unemployed for more than 52 weeks are collected quarterly for each employment office and careers office but are not subdivided to show those registered for more than two years. Percentages of the sort requested have not been calculated and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Sillars

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the average number of weeks that an unemployed person is on the jobcentre register; and if he will give his answer by United Kingdom region.

Mr. Golding

Figures are not available for the average length of time spent on the unemployment register for a person who has completed a period of unemployment. Data are compiled for the median length of time spent on the unemployment register by persons still unemployed on the date of the count. The following table gives details for each United Kingdom region, on the four dates during the past year for which statistics are available, relating to local offices of the Employment Service Agency and

UNEMPLOYED REGISTERED AT LOCAL OFFICES OF THE EMPLOYMENT SERVICE AGENCY AND THE NORTHERN IRELAND DEPARTMENT OF MANPOWER SERVICES
Region January 1977 Median length of time registered as unemployed April 1977 Median length of time registered as unemployed July 1977 Median length of time registered as unemployed Number of weeks October 1977 Median length of time registered as unemployed
South-East 16.7 18.1 16.9 16.9
East Anglia 16.1 19.3 19.6 17.6
South-West 18.5 21.9 20.9 18.1
West Midlands 22.5 23.1 21.6 22.5
East Midlands 19.8 21.6 20.5 19.6
Yorkshire and Humberside 20.0 21.6 20.0 18.8
North-West 21.4 23.4 22.3 22.2
North 22.4 24.3 23.0 21.9
Wales 20.6 22.9 21.9 20.3
Scotland 18.7 21.5 20.1 20.1
Northern Ireland* 21.8 23.6 25.7 23.6
* In Northern Ireland the figures relate to December 1976, March 1977, June 1977 and September 1977.

Mr. Sillars

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is his estimate of the number of young people under the age of 21 years now unemployed in each region of the United Kingdom.

Mr. Golding

The following table gives the numbers under 20 years of age who were registered as unemployed at the date of the last half-yearly age analysis. Information for those under 21 years of age is not available. Except for Northern Ireland, for which the figures relate to the count made on 9th June, the information is for 14th July.

South-East 95,053
East Anglia 10,631
South-West 29,538
West Midlands 51,783
East Midlands 25,985
Yorks and Humberside 43,454
North-West 74,674
North 42,009
Wales 28,256
Scotland 54,818
Northern Ireland 13,595

Mr. Sillars

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current level of professional and executive unemployment compared with one and two years ago.

Mr. Golding

The following table gives the numbers of unemployed people in Great Britain who were registered at employment offices for managerial and professional occupations at 8th September, the latest date for which this information is available.

September 1975 66,089
September 1976 89,024
September 1977 120,420

the Northern Ireland Department of Man power Services.

From June 1977 these figures have been compiled by computer processes which provide more detailed and accurate information. This change could have accounted for about 5,000 of the increase in the figures between September 1976 and September 1977.

Mr. Sillars

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of total United Kingdom and Great Britain unemployment, respectively, Scotland has taken in each of the past five years.

Mr. Golding

In the following table the annual average numbers unemployed in Scotland are expressed as percentages of the corresponding figures for the United Kingdom and Great Britain.

United Kingdom per cent.) Great Britain (per cent.)
1973 15.7 16.5
1974 14.0 14.8
1975 11.5 12.0
1976 11.3 11.7
1977 (January—November) 12.3 12.8

Mr. Sillars

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what is his estimate of the net job loss in Scotland since March 1974 to the latest available date;

(2) what is his estimate of the net job loss in Scotland since December 1975.

Mr. Gregor MacKenzie

I have been asked to reply to the hon. Member.

Figures of employees in employment relating to March 1974 are not available but the latest provisional estimates indicate that between June 1974 and June 1977 the number of employees in employment in Scotland decreased by about 14,000 or 0.7 per cent. Between December 1975 and June 1977 the fail was about 4,000.

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