§ Mr. Peter Morrisonasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what was the ratio of registered unemployed to notified vacancies in Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Cumbria in February and October 1974 and in February 1978; and how these ratios compare with the national ones for the same dates;
(2) what was the registered number of unemployed in Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Cumbria in February and October 1974 and in February 1978; what proportion of the available work force these figures represent; and how these figures compare with the national one for the same dates.
§ Mr. GoldingThe following table gives the numbers registered as unemployed, 503W the unemployment rates and the numbers of unfilled vacancies in the areas specified. The vacancy statistics relate only to notified vacancies and are not a measure of total vacancies. Because of possible duplication in the separate figures for employment offices and careers offices,
February 1974 October 1974 February 1978 Numbers Unemployed Rate per cent. Numbers Unemployed Rate per cent. Numbers Unemployed Rate per cent. Lancashire … 13,674 2.6 13,504 2.6 35,353 6.5 Merseyside* … 43,395 6.0 —† — 82,185 11.4 Greater Manchester* 31,104 2.6 31,381 2.6 74,238 6.2 Cheshire* … … 8,327 2.4 9,565 2.8 22,159 6.0 Cumbria … … 5,975 3.3 6,445 3.5 12,498 6.4 Great Britain … 599,200 2.6 610,300 2.7 1,445,900 6.2 * The numbers unemployed in counties are aggregates of figures for employment office areas. Where these straddle county boundries they have been allocated to counties on a 'best fit' basis. The percentage rates are for the nearest areas which can be expressed in terms of complete travel-to-work areas. † Because of industrial action by some staff in the Department of Employment, group figures are not available for October 1974.
UNFILLED VACANCIES February 1974 October 1974 February 1978 at Employment Offices at Careers Offices at Employment Offices at Careers Offices at Employment Offices at Careers Offices Lancashire … 5,083 1,933 5,665 1,643 3,392 241 Merseyside … … 4,342 1,421 4,139 625 2,512 119 Greater Manchester 9,331 3,352 12,113 3,761 6,349 611 Cheshire … … 2,691 1,019 2,812 831 1,892 203 Cumbria … … 1,848 506 2,532 408 1,783 169 Great Britain … 266,782 84,847 299,056 76,463 170,158 18,876
§ Mr. Peter Morrisonasked the Secretary of State for Employment what were the numbers in February 1974 and in each February since then of registered unemployed in Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Cumbria whose immediate previous employment was in the textiles industry; and what were the numbers employed there on those dates in the textiles industry.
NUMBERS UNEMPLOYED February 1974 February 1975 February 1976 February 1977 February 1978 Lancashire … … … … 818 1,484 2,371 2,283 2,298 Merseyside … … … … 359 441 627 713 768 Greater Manchester … … 1,750 1,976 3,715 3,842 4,361 Cheshire … … … … 136 220 393 304 342 Cumbria … … … … 233 340 443 416 408 504W
EMPLOYEES IN EMPLOYMENT June 1974 June 1975 June 1976 Lancashire … … … … … … 44,300 40,000 39,000 Merseyside … … … … … … 5,800 5,000 5,000 Greater Manchester … … … … 77,800 73,300 70,700 Cheshire … … … … … … 5,400 4,600 3,900 Cumbria … … … … … … 6,100 5,900 5,500 the two series cannot be added together to provide the ratios requested. The unemployment rates are based on the estimated total numbers of employees—employed and unemployed—which differ from the total working population in that they exclude self-employed persons and members of Her Majesty's Forces.
§ Mr. GoldingThe following table gives for the dates and counties specified the numbers of people registered as unemployed whose last employment was in the textiles industry. The numbers of employees in employment in the textiles industry in these counties which are also given are taken from censuses of employment. Figures are available only for June each year, and the latest are for June 1976.
505W
§ Mr. Peter Morrisonasked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the number of people aged under 21 years in full-time employment in Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Cumbria in February and October 1974 and in February 1978.
§ Mr. GoldingI regret that the information requested is not available.
§ Mr. Peter Morrisonasked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the
Great Britain Lancashire Merseyside Greater Manchester Cheshire Cumbria 1977 … … 20.3 18.0 29.6 19.5 20.2 21.5 1978 … … 21.5 18.6 33.3 21.2 23.1 23.6 Medians for Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Cumbria for earlier years could be supplied only at a disproportionate cost. The figures for Great Britain for these years are: 1970, 11.6; 1971, 11.6; 1972, 16.3; 1973, 19.2; 1974, 13.5; 1975, 12.2; 1976, 18.3.
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.