§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the total number of persons in employment in the Bedford/Kempston area, the percentage unemployed, the number of vacancies and the percentages that have been unemployed for six months, one year and two years, respectively.
§ Mr. AlisonEmployment statistics for local areas are available only from censuses of employment conducted annually from 1971 to 1978. Censuses were not taken in 1979 and 1980 and local results from the September 1981 census are not yet ready. At the previous census, for June 1978, there was an estimated total of 69,700 employees in employment in the Bedford jobcentre area, which includes Kempston.
The following table gives the unemployment and vacancies figures requested. The percentage rate of unemployment relates to the Bedford travel-to-work area which comprises the Bedford and Biggleswade jobcentre areas.
Per cent. Percentage rate of unemployment (February 1983) 9.6 Unemployed by duration as a percentage of total unemployed (January 1983) Over 26 and up to 52 weeks 21.2 Over 52 and up to 104 weeks 18.2 Over 104 weeks 10.4 Notified vacancies remaining unfilled (February 1983) Number At jobcentre 207 At careers office 21 The vacancy statistics relate only to vacancies notified to jobcentres and careers offices; vacancies notified to jobcentres are estimated to be about one-third of all vacancies in the country as a whole. Because of possible duplication the figures for jobcentres and careers offices should not be added together.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the travel-to-work areas of the United Kingdom in rank order according to the percentage unemployed in October 1982 using the old system of measurement.
§ Mr. Alison[pursuant to his reply, 11 March 1983, c. 494]: The following is the information presented in rank order for each region separately.
11W12W
Percentage rate South East Margate 20.5 Clacton 20.0 Sheerness 19.2 Chatham* 16.7 Milton Keynes 16.5 Southend.on.Sea* 15.9 Ramsgate* 15.1 Newport (Isle of Wight)* 14.6 Hastings* 14.5 Folkestone* 13.7 Luton* 13.6 Ashford (Kent) 13.0 Sittingbourne* 12.9 Portsmouth* 12.7 Brighton* 12.6 Canterbury* 12.4 Stevenage 12.4 Banbury 12.2 Lymington 11.7 Colchester 11.6 Braintree* 10.9 Harwich 10.8 Harlow* 10.6 Greater London 10.3 Hitchin* 9.9 Eastbourne* 9.8 Southampton* 9.8 Bedford* 9.7 Chichester* 9.6 Worthing* 9.6 Cranbrook 9.4 Dover 9.3 Newbury 9.2 Aldershot* 9.0 Chelmsford* 9.0 Andover 8.9 Maidstone* 8.6 Reading* 8.6 Oxford* 8.5 Buckingham 8.2 Watford* 8.1 Basingstoke 7.8 Tunbridge Wells* 7.8 Aylesbury 7.6 Slough* 7.5 Alton 7.4 High Wycombe* 7.3 Guildford* 7.0 Crawley* 6.8 Hertford* 6.4 St. Albans* 6.4 East Anglia Hunstanton 21.4 Fakenham 16.8 Dereham 16.5 Lowestoft 16.0 Great Yarmouth 15.0 Wisbech 15.0 Cromer 14.7 Peterborough 14.7 Leiston 13.8 North Walsham 13.3 Kings Lynn 13.0 March 12.3 Thetford* 12.3 Downham Market 11.7 Diss 11.5 Sudbury 11.0 Norwich* 10.9 Haverhill 10.6 Beccles* 10.3 Huntingdon 10.3 Ipswich* 9.5 St. Neots 9.4 Halesworth 9.1 13W
Percentage rate Newmarket* 9.1 Ely 7.8 Bury-St.-Edmunds 6.3 Cambridge 6.2 South West Helston 25.5 Ilfracombe 24.0 St. Ives 22.5 Falmouth 21.4 Newquay 19.9 Wadebridge 19.7 Liskeard* 19.4 Redruth* 18.8 Camelford 18.7 Penzance 18.5 Bude 17.1 Plymouth* 16.4 Torbay* 16.2 Weston-Super-Mare 15.5 Dartmouth 15.2 Axminster* 15.1 Kingsbridge 15.0 Bideford 14.3 Minehead 13.8 St. Austell 13.6 Truro 13.3 Midsomer Norton 13.2 Tiverton 13.2 Honiton 12.9 Weymouth 12.8 Launceston 12.7 Forest of Dean* 12.6 Frome 12.5 Bridport 12.2 Bournemouth* 11.9 Bridgwater* 11.9 Swindon 11.7 Bodmin 11.6 Barnstaple 11.5 Chard 11.3 Bristol* 11.2 Okehampton 11.0 Stroud 10.9 Wareham* 10.9 Gloucester 10.7 Shaftesbury 10.3 Blandford 10.2 Dursley 10.0 Bath 9.9 Exeter* 9.7 Devizes 9.5 Salisbury* 9.3 Chippenham* 9.0 Trowbridge* 9.0 Cirencester 8.9 Warminster 8.7 Taunton 8.6 Cheltenham* 8.4 Yeovil* 8.1 Wells 7.8 Dorchester 5.8 West Midlands Oakengates* 20.5 Redditch 19.2 Walsall* 18.9 Market Drayton 18.7 Birmingham* 18.0 Wolverhampton* 18.0 Coventry* 17.6 Dudley and Sandwell* 16.6 Ludlow 14.8 Kidderminster* 14.2 Stoke on Trent* 14.1 Ross on Wye 13.9 Rugby 13.7 14W
Percentage rate Leominster 13.0 Oswestry 12.8 Shrewsbury 12.7 Worcester* 12.7 Whitchurch 12.3 Hereford 11.4 Uttoxeter 11.4 Leamington 11.3 Ledbury 10.9 Burton-on-Trent 10.5 Stratford-on-Avon 10.1 Leek 9.7 Stafford* 9.1 Evesham 8.4 East Midlands Mabelthorpe 22.5 Corby 21.0 Skegness 20.2 Alfreton 14.8 Chesterfield* 14.5 Wellingborough 14.4 Gainsborough 14.2 Kettering 13.5 Hinckley 12.9 Mansfield 12.8 Leicester* 12.7 Melton Mowbray 12.7 Lincoln 12.5 Worksop 12.5 Nottingham* 12.3 Stamford* 12.3 Louth 11.8 Grantham 11.6 Boston 11.4 Sleaford 11.4 Holbeach 11.1 Newark 11.1 Buxton* 11.0 Horncastle 10.8 Retford 10.8 Derby* 10.4 Sutton-in-Ashfield 10.3 Northampton* 10.1 Coalville* 9.6 Rushden 9.3 Loughborough 9.2 Matlock* 9.2 Spalding 8.6 Market Harborough 7.4 Yorkshire and Humberside Whitby 22.5 Mexborough* 22.3 Rotherham 20.0 Bridlington 18.9 Scunthorpe* 18.2 Maltby 18.1 Doncaster* 17.1 Hull* 16.4 Todmorden 16.4 Goole 16.2 Bradford* 15.6 Barnsley* 15.3 Dewsbury* 14.8 Sheffield* 14.5 Scarborough 14.3 Castleford* 13.9 Grimsby 13.9 Huddersfield 13.9 Leeds* 13.2 Halifax* 13.1 Richmond 13.0 Keighley 12.9 Wakefield* 12.3 Selby 12.0 Filey 10.9 15W
Percentage rate Northallerton 10.3 Ripon 9.7 Harrogate 9.0 York 8.4 Thirsk 7.9 Malton 7.7 Skipton 7.2 Pickering 6.8 Driffield 5.7 North West Ormskirk* 23.0 Widnes* 21.0 Birkenhead* 20.9 Liverpool* 20.2 Wigan* 19.2 Southport 19.1 St. Helens 18.4 Rochdale 18.3 Rossendale* 17.4 Leigh* 17.3 Bolton* 17.2 Accrington* 16.5 Northwich* 15.7 Warrington* 15.7 Ashton-under-Lyne* 15.3 Blackburn* 15.2 Nelson* 15.0 Oldham* 15.0 Lancaster* 14.6 Manchester* 14.5 Bury* 14.3 Chester 13.6 Blackpool* 13.5 Preston* 13.2 Burnley* 13.1 Macclesfield 11.0 Crewe* 10.9 Barnoldswick 10.5 Clitheroe 5.7 North Consett* 27.4 Hartlepool 21.4 Wearside* 20.5 Teesside* 20.1 Workington* 19.4 South Tyne* 19.3 Peterlee* 19.1 Morpeth* 16.6 Alnwick* 15.6 Darlington and South West Durham* 15.3 Central Durham* 14.7 North Tyne* 14.5 Whitehaven* 14.0 Haltwhistle 13.7 Berwick-on-Tweed 12.7 Barnard Castle 11.3 Carlisle 11.2 Furness* 11.2 Hexham 10.3 Penrith 9.9 Keswick 8.5 Kendal* 7.7 Wales Pembroke Dock 29.5 Tenby 28.0 Ebbw Vale* 23.5 Lampeter* 23.3 Rhyl 22.3 Cardigan 22.1 Holyhead* 22.1 Bargoed* 22.0 Monmouth 20.4 Wrexham* 20.0 Aberdare 19.3 16W
Percentage rate Llanelli* 19.0 Tywyn 18.8 Shotton* 18.6 Caernarvon* 18.3 Neath* 18.2 Milford Haven* 18.0 Pwllheli* 17.5 Pontypridd* 17.1 Port Talbot* 17.1 Swansea* 17.1 Newtown 16.8 Pontypool* 16.5 Merthyr Tydfil* 16.3 Blaenau Ffestiniog 16.1 Machynlleth 15.9 Llandeilo 15.6 Fishguard 15.5 Newport* 15.4 Cardiff* 15.2 Llanrwst 14.1 Barmouth 13.9 Llangollen 13.5 Llandrindod Wells 13.3 Llandudno* 12.9 Aberystwyth 12.7 Welshpool 12.4 Denbigh 11.9 Brecon 9.7 Carmarthen 7.6 Scotland Stornoway 27.7 Irvine* 24.2 Rothesay 23.4 Bathgate* 22.5 Portree 22.3 Sanquhar 22.0 North Lanarkshire* 21.8 Girvan 21.5 Arbroath 21.3 Newton Stewart 20.5 Cumnock 19.9 Forres 19.9 Dumbarton* 19.8 Kilmarnock 19.7 Dingwall* 19.0 Campbeltown 18.8 Stranraer 18.5 Paisley* 17.7 Lanark* 17.4 Glasgow* 17.1 Greenock* 17.0 Falkirk* 16.7 Buckie 16.5 Blairgowrie 16.4 Ayr* 16.3 Dundee 16.1 Anstruther 15.9 Fort William 15.9 Nairn 15.7 Wick 15.7 Stirling* 15.5 Fraserburgh 15.2 Castle Douglas 14.1 Kirkcaldy* 13.9 Thurso 13.5 Dunfermline* 13.4 Kirkwall 13.2 Eyemouth 13.1 Oban 13.0 Dumfries* 12.9 Dunoon 12.9 Edinburgh* 12.4 Elgin 12.3 Peterhead 12.1 Lochgilphead 11.9 Montrose 10.9
Percentage rate St. Andrews 10.3 Inverness 10.2 Forfar 9.9 Banff 9.8 Perth* 9.6 Cupar 9.5 Peebles 9.3 Hawick 9.2 Haddington 9.1 Galashiels 8.2 Aberdeen* 7.7 Kelso 7.1 Lerwick 6.4 Huntly 5.7 Northern Ireland Strabane 39.2 Dungannon 34.7 Cookstown 33.0 Newry 32.9 Londonderry* 28.8 Enniskillen 24.8 Coleraine* 24.0 Downpatrick* 23.5 Ballymena* 23.4 Omagh 22.8 Armagh 20.8 Craigavon* 19.1 Belfast* 18.8 * Travel-to-work area comprising two or more jobcentre areas.