HC Deb 20 October 1981 vol 10 cc111-2W
Mrs. Renée Short

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people aged 20 and under in (a) Wolverhampton and (h) the West Midlands have never had a job; and what were the comparable figures for April 1979.

Mr. Alison:

At 8 October 1981 the provisional number of registered unemployed young people aged 18 and under in the Wolverhampton employment office area and the West Midlands region who had not entered employment since completing full-time education was 2,788 and 31,028 respectively. The corresponding figures at April 1979 were 330 and 2,621, respectively. Information for the precise age range requested is not available.

The April 1979 count excluded Easter school leavers. In contrast, October figures include many of the large number of school leavers who register each summer.

The Government have expanded the youth opportunities programme, which exists to help unemployed young people with appropriate training and work experience, to provide 550,000 places in the current financial year.

Mrs. Renée Short

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the industries in (a) Wolverhampton and (b) the West Midlands in which there have been increases in unemployment since May 1979; and if he will give the percentage increase.

Mr. Peter Morrison:

I shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Mrs. Renée Short

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest unemployment numbers and rate amongst ethnic minorities in (a) Wolverhampton and (b) the West Midlands; and what were the comparable figures for April 1979.

Mr. Peter Morrison:

The numbers registered as unemployed are analysed by ethnic origin in February, May, August and November.

The following is the information for May 1979 and August 1981. Figures for August are normally higher in any one year than in May, partly because of the registration of summer school leavers.

Unemployed ethnic minority group workers*
Wolverhampton employment Office area 1,220 3,079
West Midlands 10,558 30,740
* Unemployed people born in, or whose parents were born in, the New Commonwealth and Pakistan.

Unemployment rates for ethnic minorities cannot be calculated as there are no estimates available of the numbers of employees for this group of workers.