HC Deb 08 December 1982 vol 33 cc534-5W
Mr. Ernie Ross

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the net loss in jobs in manufacturing industry in (a) Dundee and (b) Scotland since 1979.

Mr. Alexander Fletcher

According to statistics published by the Department of Employment, manufacturing employment in Scotland is estimated to have declined by 139,000 between mid-1979 and mid-1982; no equivalent information is available for Dundee. However, according to the latest information available from Scottish manufacturing establishments record—which relates to units with 11 or more employees—manufacturing employment is estimated to have declined by 5,400 in Dundee and 100,000 in Scotland between 1979 and 1981.

Mr. Ernie Ross

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the average number of people in Scotland in the 16 to 24 years age group annually unemployed in each of the past 10 years.

Mr. Alexander Fletcher

It is not possible to calculate an annual average of youth unemployment for each of the past 10 years, since before mid-1978 the unemployment register was only analysed by age twice yearly and since then the analysis as been undertaken quarterly. The following table gives the number of persons under 24 years of age who were registered as unemployed in Scotland in each of the months for which information is available. Because of the incidence of school leaving dates, January and July are peak months for youth unemployment in Scotland and consequently meaningful averages can only be calculated for 1979 and later years.

Numbers of persons under 24 years of age registered as unemployed in Scotland
Year January April July October Average
1973 45,614 30,942
1974 n/a 31,921
1975 n/a 58,603
1976 59,658 72,997
1977 75,922 89,627
1978 84,930 87,862 70,701
1979 78,224 67,844 85,256 71,271 75,649
1980 83,837 77,822 109,137 101,572 93,092
1981 118,147 113,658 133,333 131,835 124,243
1982 139,414 129,589 149,377 144,187 140,642

Note:

Information for January 1974 and 1975 is not available (n/a) because of industrial action at some Department of Employment Offices.

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