HC Deb 12 May 1982 vol 23 cc252-3W
Mr. William Hamilton

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the average monthly total of registered unemployed in Scotland in 1970, 1974, 1978 and 1981, respectively.

Mr. Alexander Fletcher

The information is set out in the following table.

Year Numbers registered as unemployed in Scotland (annual average)
1970 90,900
1974 88,400
1978 184,700
1981 307,200

Note 1 The 1974 average has been calculated on the basis of 11 months; because of industrial action at certain Department of Employment Offices information for December 1974 is not available.

Note 2 The 1970 and 1974 figures include adult students registered for vocational employment.

Mr. William Hamilton

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the average monthly total of youth unemployment in Scotland in each of the last seven years.

Mr. Alexander Fletcher

It is not possible to calculate a monthly average of youth unemployment, since before mid-1978 the unemployment register was only analysed by age twice yearly and since then the analysis has been undertaken quarterly. The following table gives the numbers of young people under 18 years of age who were registered as unemployed in Scotland in 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 annual averages can only be calculated for 1979 and later years.

Year January April July October Average
1979 22,373 14,745 32,905 17,681 21,926
1980 22,436 16,087 41,799 26,417 26,685
1981 30,623 23,685 38,486 31,000 30,949

Note: Information for January 1975 is not available because of industrial action at some Department of Employment Offices.

Mr. William Hamilton

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the average monthly total of registered unemployed women in Scotland in each year since 1970.

Mr. Alexander Fletcher

The information is set out in the following table.

Numbers of females registered as unemployed in Scotland
Year (annual average)
1970 17,200
1971 24,300
1972 29,100
1973 21,000
1974 17,500
1975 28,400
1976 43,000
1977 57,100
1978 61,000
1979 62,800
1980 78,600
1981 99,000

Note 1:

The 1974 and 1975 averages have been calculated on the basis of 11 months only; because of industrial action at certain Department of Employment offices information for December 1974 and January 1975 is not available.

Note 2:

The figures for 1970 to 1975 include adult students registered for vacation employment.