HC Deb 06 May 1982 vol 23 cc137-40W
Mr. Ernie Ross

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment the Manpower Services Commission has made of the probability of the unemployed in Scotland finding employment within three months of being made redundant or entering the unemployment register; and if he will provide a breakdown by age group.

Mr. Alison

I have been asked to reply.

The Manpower Services Commission does not make such assessments. However, calculations are made of the proportion of those registered as unemployed for less than three months on a given date who are no longer registered as unemployed three months later. The latest available figures for Scotland indicated that 34 per cent. of those who had been registered as unemployed for less than three months on 8 October 1981 were no longer registered on 14 January 1982. This proportion includes, those leaving the register for employment and for reasons including sickness, entry into one of the Government's special employment and training measures such as the youth opportunities programme and retirement. An estimated breakdown by age is provided in the following table.

Proportion of those registered as unemployed for less than three months on 8 October 1981 who were no longer registered on 14 January 1982
Age on 8 October 1981 Scotland per cent.
16–19 42
20–24 34
25–34 30
35–44 31
45–54 27
55 and over 20
All ages 34

Mr. McTaggart

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how the numbers of unemployed in (a) Scotland and (b) Glasgow at present compare with the numbers in (i) June 1966 and (ii) May 1979; and if he will give figures for males and in total.

Mr. Alexander Fletcher

[pursuant to his reply, 27 April 1982, c. 269]: The information is set out in the following table:

Numbers registered as unemployed
Scotland
Males Total
April 82 227,347 331,238
May 1979 109,695 165,441
June 1966 36,990 50,273
Glasgow Travel to Work Area
April 1982 68,780 95,587
May 1979 34,845 48,525
June 1966 13,131 15,440

Note 1:

Figures for June 1966 include adult students registered for vacaticnal employment.

Note 2:

The Glasgow Travel to Work area includes the 13 employment office areas in Glasgow City together with the Barrhead, Clydebank, Cumbernauld, East Kilbride, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch, employment office aras.

Mr. McTaggart

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many young people in Glasgow have never had a job since leaving school.

Mr. Alexander Fletcher

[pursuant to his reply, 27 April 1982, c. 270]: On 15 April 1982, 5,214 young people under the age of 18 years who had not been in employment since completing full-time education were registered as unemployed at employment offices and careers offices in Glasgow travel-to-work area.

Mr. McTaggart

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table for Glasgow showing the number out of work by standard industrial classification order and the corresponding job vacancies by standard industrial classification order; and what were the corresponding figures for May 1979.

Glasgow travel-to-work area total
10 May 1979 12 August 1981
Standard Industrial Classification Total Unemployed Unfilled Vacancies Total Unemployed Unfilled Vacancies
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing 128 12 277 9
Mining and Quarrying 96 4 210 1
Food, Drink and Tobacco 2,481 248 3,658 32
Coal and Petroleum Products 29 13 44
Chemical and Allied Industries 392 51 721 6
Metal Manufacture 1,021 32 1,614 10
Mechanical Engineering 1,682 281 4,188 149
Instrument Engineering 83 24 142 17
Electrical Engineering 684 91 1,807 32
Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering 634 31 1,553 26
Vehicles 387 21 1,981 3
Metal Goods not elsewhere specified 732 84 1,288 37
Textiles 683 64 1,363 46
Leather, Leather Goods and Fur 97 11 192 4
Clothing and Footwear 1,271 307 1,932 89
Bricks, Pottery, Glass, Cement, etc. 336 24 588 4
Timber, Furniture, etc. 461 77 940 13
Paper, Printing and Publishing 664 78 1,165 18
Other Manufacturing Industries 432 57 784 22
Construction 7,501 617 14,836 118
Gas, Electricity and Water 197 24 258 33
Transport and Communication 2,302 231 3,658 31
Distributive Trades 5,638 1,617 10,040 475
Insurance, Banking, Finance and Business Services 811 254 1,643 287
Professional and Scientific Services 1,909 582 3,961 355
Miscellaneous Services 4,749 957 8,950 377
Public Administration and Defence 3,686 577 5,305 569
Not classified by industry 9,441 22,648
Total 48,527 6,369 95,746 2,763

Mr. McTaggart

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many companies have closed down in Glasgow since May 1979; and how many jobs have been lost as a result.

Mr. Alexander Fletcher

[pursuant to his reply, 27 April 1982, c. 270]: Comprehensive information on closures and redundancies is not available. However, between 1 May 1979 and 31 January 1982, the latest date for which information is available, 178 instances of redundancy involving 10 or more workers and leading to closure were notified to the Manpower Services Commission as due to occur in the Glasgow travel-to-work area with a total loss of 12,425 jobs.

Mr. McTaggart

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide a percentage breakdown of the number of males out of work in the following categories: (a) up to one year, (b) between one and two years, (c) between two and three years and (d) over three years.

Mr. Alexander Fletcher

[pursuant to his reply, 27 April 1982, c. 270]: The following table gives an analysis by duration of unemployment of the number of males

Mr. Alexander Fletcher

[pursuant to his reply, 27 April 1982, c. 269]: The following table gives an analysis by standard industrial classification of the numbers registered as unemployed and the number of unfilled vacancies in the Glasgow travel-to-work area on 10 May 1979 and 12 August 1981, the latest date for which the information is available.

registered as unemployed in the Glasgow travel-to-work area and in Scotland on 14 January 1982, the latest date for which information is available.

Glasgow TTWA Scotland
Duration Number of Males registered as unemployed Percentage share Number of Males registered as unemployed Percentage share
Up to 1 year 42,484 60.3 158,550 66.6
Over 1 year and up to 2 years 16,102 22.9 48,649 20.4
Over 2 years and up to 3 years 5,278 7.5 14,214 6.0
Over 3 years 6,587 9.3 16,649 7.0
Total 70,451 100.0 238,062 100.0