§ Mr. Hannamasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will estimate the percentage share of total registered unemployed in the European Community and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development attributable to the United Kingdom for each year since 1970 including his estimate for the latest period in 1982; and if he will provide comparable figures for male unemployment.
§ Mr. AlisonThe following table gives the available information. It is based on national unemployment statistics, some of which use sources other than registrations, such as surveys or insurance data. Because of this, and because of differences in concepts and coverage of unemployment, the following percentages must be regarded as approximate.
United Kingdom as percentage of unemployment in EC* OECD† Annual averages Total Male Total Male 1970 28 33 7 11 1971 30 36 8 12 1972 30 36 8 12 1973 23 29 6 10 1974 20 26 6 9 1975 21 26 6 9 1976 25 31 8 11 1977 25 31 9 12 1978 24 30 8 11 1979 22 28 8 11 1980 25 32 9 11 1981 29 36 11 15 1982 27 34 11 14 Sources: * Statistical Office of the European Communities, "Unemployment" bulletins; † OECD "Labour Force Statistics" and "Main Economic Indicators", supplemented by labour attache reports etc. Notes: * EC: Figures for the nine countries which have been members since 1973. Figures for Greece are not available for the whole period. The United Kingdom joined the EC in 1973. † OECD: Figures for the nine EC members in (*) plus Australia, Austria, Canada, Finland, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United States. Figures for Greece and Portugal are not available for the whole period. The male figures incorporate some estimates, particularly in 1982. 1982 figures are for the first three quarters only.