§ Mr. Hardyasked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the total numbers unemployed and the number of young persons unemployed in the Maltby employment area and in the Dinnington part of the Sheffield travel-to-work area; and what steps he is taking to meet the needs of these areas.
§ Mr. Jim Lester[pursuant to his reply, 15 May 1980, c. 668]: At 10 April, the numbers of people registered as unemployed in the areas covered by the Maltby and Dinnington employment offices were 901 and 961 respectively, of which the
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Numbers registered as unemployed under 20 years of age Notified unfilled vacancies At Employment office At Careers office South Yorkshire April 1979 April 1980* April 1979 April 1980 April 1979 April 1980 Barnsley … … 689 1,193 436 133 60 25 Chapeltown … 41 49 45 † — — Dinnington … 75 89 43 37 — — Doncaster … … 1,367 1,887 760 475 46 60 Firth Park … … 77 78 301 † — — Goldthorpe … 90 104 31 26 — — Hoyland … … 36 42 61 31 — — Maltby … … 55 95 39 39 — — Mexborough … 193 261 114 40 — — Rotherham … 967 1,494 201 122 270 26 Sheffield … … 1,684 2,531 1,342 750† 471 336 Thorne … … 191 162 52 36 — — Wombwell … … 75 92 78 34 — — Woodhouse … 70 77 91 † — — Total … … 5,610 8,154 3,594 1,723 847 447 The vacancy statistics relate only to vacancies notified to employment offices and careers offices; vacancies notified to employment offices are estimated to be about one-third of all vacancies in the country as a whole. Because of possible duplication the two series should not be added together. * The April 1980 unemployment figures are not strictly comparable with those prior to October 1979 because of the introduction of fortnightly attendance and payment of benefit. This had the effect of raising the monthly figures for all unemployed in Great Britain by about 20,000 or 1½ per cent. Estimates of this effect by age or by local area are not available. † From July 1979 there are no separate vacancy figures available for Chapeltown, Firth Park and Woodhouse; the figures are included in Sheffield. numbers under 20 years of age were 95 and 89.
To help meet the immediate needs of the young people seeking employment, my right hon. Friend has agreed to the Manpower Services Commission's proposal to expand the youth opportunities programme by 25 per cent. in 1980–81.
In the longer term, the measures we are taking to curb inflation and create the conditions in which United Kingdom firms can compete successfully in world markets offer the only hope for improving employment prospects generally.
§ Mr. Hardyasked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the numbers of young people registered as employed and as unemployed and the number of unfilled vacancies existing in each employment area in the county of South Yorkshire at the latest date for which figures are available and one year earlier.
§ Mr. Jim Lester[pursuant to his reply, 15 May 1980, c. 668]: The following table gives, for the areas specified, the numbers of young people under 20 years of age registered as unemployed and the numbers of notified unfilled vacancies at employment offices and careers offices at April 1979 and April 1980. There are no corresponding estimates of employees by age group for individual areas.
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§ Mr. Hardyasked the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he is taking to extend special employment and training measures, or to encourage unemployed young people or those about to leave school with no firm prospect of employment within the county of South Yorkshire, to remain at school or to enter full-time further or higher education.
§ Mr. Jim Lester[pursuant to his reply, Official Report, 15 May 1980, c. 668]: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend on 14 February 1980 on the special employment measures for 1980–81.—[Vol. 978, c. 1755.]
Wherever it is appropriate, careers officers encourage young people of school-leaving age to consider remaining at school for further studies or entering a suitable course in an establishment of further or higher education. Their decision often depends on whether they see it as improving their chance of obtaining employment, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science is currently reviewing the provision that is made for young people in schools and colleges with this very much in mind.