§ 15. Mr. Geraint Howellsasked the Secretary of State for Employment if the Manpower Services Commission has carried out any studies into the costs of unemployment.
§ Mr. TebbitYes.
§ 16. Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Employment what estimate he makes of the number of unemployed persons who would be worse off by taking up employment.
§ Mr. AlisonI am informed by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services that no reliable estimate can be made.
§ 20. Mr. Lennox-Boydasked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest unemployment figures; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonAt 12 November, the number of people registered as unemployed in the United Kingdom was 2,953,340. I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that my right hon. Friend gave to the hon. Members for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner) and Swindon (Mr. Stoddart) earlier today.
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§ 44. Mr. Cryerasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the current unemployment figures.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonI refer the hon. Member to the reply that my right hon. Friend gave today to the hon. Members for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner) and Swindon (Mr. Stoddart).
§ 51. Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the present rate of unemployment.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonAt 12 November the rate of unemployment in the United Kingdom was 12.2 per cent.
§ 55. Mr. Winnickasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the latest number who are registered as unemployed in the United Kingdom and the percentage increase in unemployment since June 1979.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonAt 12 November, the number of people registered as unemployed in the United Kingdom, seasonally adjusted and excluding school leavers, was 2,764,300 representing an increase of 115.3 per cent. since June 1979.
§ Mr. Canavanasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are registered unemployed in the United Kingdom; and if he will estimate the number of unemployed people who are not registered.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonAt 12 November, the number of people registered as unemployed in the United Kingdom was 2,953,340. It is estimated that in 1979, the latest year for which data from all sources of information are available, about a third of a million people were seeking work but were not registered as unemployed. Later information from the general household survey suggests that the numbers may have been similar in 1980.
Various surveys over the years—the latest in 1980—have also suggested that for one reason or another some of the registered unemployed are not actively looking for work or are not concerned about being out of work; estimates of the proportion range between 10 and 20 per cent., varying in part with the coverage and timing of the surveys. These survey estimates have a degree of uncertainty reflecting sampling errors and other survey difficulties, and are not necessarily representative of the position in 1981.
§ Mr. Greville Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the measures he has taken so far to reduce the levels of unemployment; and if he will estimate how successful each of these has been.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonThe Government's programme of special employment and training measures to reduce the level of unemployment includes the temporary short time working compensation scheme, the youth opportunities programme, the job release scheme, the community enterprise programme, the community industry scheme, the training for skills programme and, from 4 January 1982, the young workers scheme.
At the end of October it was estimated that about 720,000 people were benefiting from these measures. The effect of each of the measures at this time is given in the table below. 80W
Measure Numbers of people benefiting Temporary Short Time Working Compensation Scheme 330,000 Youth Opportunities Programme 280,000 Job Release Scheme 51,000 Community Enterprise Programme 21,000 Community Industry Scheme 7,100 Training for Skills Programme 30,400 Total 719,500