§ Mr. Allen McKayasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will list the percentage figure of unemployment in each area of the Penistone constituency for each year since 1978 and the latest percentage figure produced by the new counting method;
(2) if he will list for each area in the Penistone constituency the number of unemployed for each year since 1978 and the latest figure produced by the new counting method.
§ Mr. AlisonI shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
§ Mr. Skinnerasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the rate of unemployment in the following countries (a) the United Kingdom, (b) Norway, (c) Greece, (d) Austria and (e) Japan.
§ Mr. AlisonThe latest available seasonally adjusted standardised unemployment rates estimated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development are:
Unemployment as a percentage of total labour force per centage United Kingdom 13.4 (October) Norway 2.4 (August) Austria 3.0 (June) Japan 2.5 (September) These unemployment rates have been adjusted by the OECD to conform with definitions recommended by the International Labour Office.
OECD does not estimate a standardised rate for Greece. In August the national rate for Greece on a seasonally adjusted basis was estimated at 2.8 per cent.—number registered at employment offices expressed as a 251W percentage of total employees. This rate is not comparable with the above OECD standardised rates owing to differences in coverage and definitions.