HC Deb 25 November 1981 vol 13 cc383-5W
Mr. Kilroy-Silk

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest numbers of unemployed persons in (a) the North-West, (b) Merseyside, (c) Kirkby

Table 1—April 1979
Number unemployed Of whom, those unemployed for over 52 weeks
Age Male Female Total Male Female Total
North West Region
Under 18 years 6,656 5,927 12,583 622 591 1,213
18 to 24 years 34,335 22,791 57,126 7,487 3,820 11,307
55 to 59 years 10,243 3,622 13,865 5,132 1,623 6,755
60 years and over 14,509 205 14,714 7,464 92 7,556
Merseyside Special Development Area
Under 18 years 3,256 2,602 5,858 439 398 837
18 to 24 years 15,555 9,774 25,329 4,720 2,378 7,098
55 to 59 years 3,387 987 4,374 1,876 516 2,392
60 years and over 4,319 95 4,414 2,209 44 2,253
Kirkby employment office area
Under 18 years 223 172 395 29 37 66
18 to 24 years 1,226 606 1,832 414 470 884
55 to 59 years 176 32 208 93 26 119
60 years and over 146 1 147 81 — 81
Ormskirk travel-to-work area
Under 18 years 114 94 208 10 8 18
18 to 24 years 590 473 1,063 138 88 226
55 to 59 years 108 42 150 48 17 65
60 years and over 174 5 179 85 1 86

Table 1 (continued)—October 1981
Number unemployed Of whom, those unemployed for over 52 weeks
Age Male Female Total Male Female Total
North West Region
Under 18 years 21,931 17,826 39,757 959 740 1,699
18 to 24 years 81,104 50,801 131,905 22,945 10,489 33,434
55 to 59 years 22,208 7,429 29,637 8,564 2,931 11,495
60 years and over 26,553 353 26,906 11,236 204 11,440
Merseyside Special Development Area
Under 18 years 6,976 5,737 12,713 340 188 528
18 to 24 years 27,322 15,637 42,959 9,993 4,433 14,426
55 to 59 years 6,279 1,680 7,959 2,897 822 3,719
60 years and over 7,195 112 7,307 3,522 68 3,590

and (d) the Ormskirk travel-to-work area; and how these figures compare with those for April 1979, showing a breakdown between males and females in each of the following age groups (i) under 18 years, (ii) under 25 years, (iii) over 55 years and (iv) over 60 years, respectively; and how many in each of these age groups (a) have never had a job and (b) have been unemployed for over a year.

Mr. Peter Morrison

Table 1 gives the information at April 1979 and October 1981 for the age ranges specified, distinguishing those unemployed for more than 52 weeks.

Table 2 gives the total numbers unemployed and also the numbers of unemployed school leavers under 18 years of age who had not entered employment since completing full-time education. Information for the other age groups specified who have never had a job is not available.

The figures for October include some of this year's summer school leavers, whereas the April 1979 figures do not even include the Easter school leavers in that year.

Number unemployed Of whom, those unemployed for over 52 weeks
Age Male Female Total Male Female Total
Kirkby employment office area
Under 18 years 319 282 601 8 11 19
18 to 24 years 1,706 927 2,633 762 261 1,023
55 to 59 years 364 68 432 199 30 229
60 years and over 262 3 265 137 — 137
Ormskirk travel-to-work area
Under 18 years 172 173 345 6 5 11
18 to 24 years 1,237 961 2,198 320 176 496
55 to 59 years 276 95 371 91 32 123
60 years and over 359 8 367 146 5 151

Table 2—April 1979
Total unemployed Of whom, school leavers under 18 years of age
Male Female Total Male Female Total
North West Region 137,492 55,452 192,944 2,290 2,142 4,432
Merseyside Special Development Area 55,679 21,635 77,314 1,560 1,358 2,918
Kirkby employment office area 3,917 1,121 5,038 135 119 254
Ormskirk travel-to-work area 2,180 1,276 3,456 12 13 25
October 1981
North West Region 296,586 127,638 424,224 15,977 13,275 29,252
Merseyside Special Development Area 93,967 36,493 130,460 5,716 4,806 10,522
Kirkby employment office area 5,740 1,949 7,689 262 254 516
Ormskirk travel-to-work area 4,331 2,374 6,705 115 115 230