§ Mr. Deakinsasked the Secretary of State for Employment if any preference is given to those who have been on the unemployment register for a long time when considering which claimants to send for job interviews.
§ Mr. Jim LesterI shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
§ Mr. Gwilym Robertsasked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest percentages available for unemployment among men aged under 25 years, 25 years but under 50 years, 50 years but under 60 years, and over 60 years of age; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Jim LesterThe following are estimates of the unemployment rates for men in January 1980 in Great Britain:
Ages Percentages Under 25 10.1 25–9 5.6 50–59 5.5 60 and over 9.8 The youth opportunities programme continues to help those under 19 and the job release scheme to help those who wish to withdraw from the labour force as they approach State pension age. But an effective reduction of these rates depends on the reduction of inflation and an improvement in the competitiveness of United Kingdom industry.
NOTE: Whilst the figures are presented to one decimal place, they should not be regarded as implying precision to that degree.
§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is his Department's estimate of the number of people out of work in the latest unemployment figures who have been unemployed for one full calendar year; and how many of the latest figure were merely in the process of changing jobs and thus were only temporarily unemployed.
435W
§ Mr. Jim LesterIn April 1980, 334,000 people had been registered as unemployed in Great Britain for over 52 weeks. A total of 200,000 people had been unemployed for four weeks or fewer at the date of the unemployment count in May, but many of these will remain on the register for longer periods. On average, in the last three months, 405,000 joined the unemployment register at employment offices each month and 377,000 left it (seasonally adjusted figures).