§ 21. Mr. Gwilym Robertsasked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest figures available for the number of people unemployed and working short time; what were the equivalent figures a year ago; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Jim LesterAt 13 November 1980 the number of people registered as unemployed in the United Kingdom was 2,162,874 compared with 1,355.203 at 8 November 1979.
Information on short time working is available only for operatives in manufacturing industries in Great Britain. The numbers on short time either for the whole or part of the week, in the weeks ended 13 September 1980 and 8 September 1979 were 368,000 and 51,100, respectively.
The high level of unemployment imposes great individual hardship and great economic cost. We are tackling this by bringing down inflation and reducing public spending so that industry has the confidence and resources to invest in the future. In the meantime we have expanded the special employment measures to help those most affected by unemployment.