§ 41. Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the ratio of registered unemployed persons to registered vacancies at the most recent available date; and how that compares with the corresponding ratio for May 1979.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonVacancy statistics relate only to those notified to employment offices and careers offices. Because vacancies notified to employment offices are estimated to be only about one-third of all vacancies in the country as a whole and because of possible duplication between the separate figures for employment offices and careers offices, which prevent the two series being added together, the figures cannot be used to provide the ratios requested.
The following table gives the unemployment and vacancy figures for the United Kingdom at May 1979 and March 1981.
This must, however, be primarily a matter for individual employers and, where appropriate, trade unions, taking account of their particular circumstances.