§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest unemployment figures for (a) Merseyside, (b Kirkby and (c) Ormskirk; and if he will give the average period of unemployment and the age breakdown in each case.
§ Mr. Peter Morrison:At 10 September the number of people registered as unemployed in the Merseyside special development area was 130,466. The comparable figures for the Kirkby and Ormskirk employment office areas were 7,319 and 1,887, respectively.
The latest date for which figures are available for the duration of unemployment and the age of those registered as unemployed is 9 July. At that date, the median length of time for which those in the Merseyside special development area had been unemployed is estimated at 33 weeks. The comparable figures for the Kirkby and Ormskirk employment ofice areas are 40 and 20 weeks, respectively. The following table gives an age breakdown of the total unemployed in the areas at 9 July.
13W
Numbers registered as unemployed Age Merseyside Special Development Area Kirkby employment office area Ormskirk employment office area Under 18 years 13,777 432 169 18 years 6,562 427 73 19 years 7,823 569 88 20–24 years 25,430 1,729 292 25–29 years 15,656 1,230 167 30–34 years 11,784 841 154 35–44 years 15,605 814 243 14W
Age Merseyside Special Development Area Kirkby employment office area Ormskirk employment office area 45–49 years 7,366 378 92 50–54 years 7,237 426 136 55–59 years 7,524 415 153 15W
Age Merseyside Special Development Area Kirkby employment office area Ormskirk employment office area 60 years and over 6,887 224 166 Total, all ages 125,651 7,485 1,733