§ 4. Mr. John Fraserasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are registered as unemployed in Lambeth; and how this figure compares with May 1979.
§ Mr. GummerAt April 1983 the number of unemployed claimants in the jobcentre areas which corresponded closely to Lambeth was 20,084. At May 1979 the number of registered unemployed in the area was 7,461.
§ 10. Mr. Leightonasked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the number of employees in employment in May 1979 and at the latest available date.
§ Mr. GummerThe available figures for the United Kingdom, adjusted for seasonal variations, were 23,087,000 at June 1979 and a provisional figure of 20,713,000 at December 1982. This later provisional figure may well underestimate employment, particularly in the service industries, and is likely to be revised upwards, perhaps by about 200,000, when the figures are finalised.
§ 13. Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the levels of 248W unemployment in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) all Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries.
§ Mr. AlisonThe seasonally adjusted standardised unemployment rate for December 1982 estimated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development was 13.4 per cent. for the United Kingdom. For the 15 main OECD countries the rates ranged from 2.4 per cent. in Japan to 16.6 per cent. in Spain; the average was 8.9 per cent.
Many other countries are currently experiencing a faster rate of increase than the United Kingdom, including Canada, Germany and the Netherlands.
§ 23. Mr. Greenwayasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many women were in work in each of the past five years for which statistics are available, expressed as a percentage of the total work force; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GummerThe percentage of women in the total employed labour force in Great Britain was as follows:
249W
June per cent. 1978 39.1 1979 39.6 1980 39.8 1981 40.1 1982 40.6
§ 24. Mr. Hoyleasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest level of unemployment in the Warrington travel-to-work area; and what was the figure in May 1979.
§ Mr. AlisonAt April 1983 the number of unemployed claimants in the Warrington travel-to-work area was 11,625. At May 1979 the number of registered unemployed in the area was 3,908. The figures include school leavers and are not seasonally adjusted.
§ 25. Mr. Skinnerasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the latest unemployment figures both nationally and regionally; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the latest unemployment figures.
§ Mr. AlisonAt 14 April the number of unemployed claimants in the United Kingdom was 3,169,879. The comparable regional figures were published in the unemployment press notice issued by my Department on 6 May; a copy is in the House of Commons Library.
The trend in unemployment is rising less steeply than before. This is encouraging when taken with other indicators including the increase in vacancies and improved business confidence. Future prospects for jobs depend on our success in competing in world markets as we come out of the recession.
§ 30. Mr. Strawasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest percentage rate, and numbers of unemployed persons in (a) France and (b) the United Kingdom, on a standardised Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development basis.
§ Mr. GummerThe seasonally adjusted standardised unemployment rates for February estimated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development are:
Unemployment as a percentage of total labour force Per cent. France 8.0 United Kingdom 13.7 Numbers of unemployed persons on a basis are not published by the OECD.
§ 41. Mr. Winnickasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will state the latest figures for persons unemployed in the United Kingdom and the number of these who have been unemployed for 12 months and more.
§ Mr. AlisonAt 14 April the total number of unemployed claimants in United Kingdom was 3,169,879. An analysis of this number by duration of unemployment is not yet available, but at 13 January, out of a total of 3,225,216 unemployed claimants, 1,106,771 had been unemployed for over 52 weeks.
§ 43. Mr. Robert C. Brownasked the Secretary of State for Employment what were the numbers of unemployed for one year and over in the northern region in May 1979 and in April 1983.
§ Mr. AlisonAt April 1979—not available for May — the number of people registered as unemployed for over 52 weeks in the north region was 35,885. At January250W 1983, the latest date for which an analysis by duration of unemployment is available, there were 92,346 unemployed claimants in the region who had been unemployed for over 52 weeks.
§ 49. Mr. Roy Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest number and percentage of those who are unemployed (a) overall and(b) expressed on a regional basis.
§ Mr. AlisonAt 14 April the number of unemployed claimants in the United Kingdom was 3,169,879 and the unemployment rate was 13.3 per cent. The comparable regional figures were published in the unemployment press notice issued by my Department on 6 May; a copy is in the House of Commons Library.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the latest figures for the number of people who have been unemployed for more than (a) one year, (b) two years, (c) three years, (d) four years and (e) five years, respectively.
§ Mr. AlisonThe following is the available information for the United Kingdom at 13 January 1983, the latest date for which an analysis by duration of unemployment is available. This analysis does not provide separate figures for over four and over five years.
Unemployed by duration January 1983 Number Over 52 and up to 104 weeks 600,595 Over 104 and up to 156 weeks 301,560 Over 156 weeks 204,616
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many of the travel-to-work areas in England that had a trebling or more of their percentage unemployed between May 1979 and October 1982 have a current rate of unemployment above the national average.
§ Mr. AlisonTwenty-six.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many of the travel-to-work areas in England that had a trebling or more of their percentage unemployed between May 1979 and October 1982 are in assisted areas; and if he will list the areas which are not.
§ Mr. AlisonThere are seven travel-to-work areas in England with assisted area status whose unemployment rates increased by 200 per cent. or more between May 1979 and October 1982. The travel-to-work areas with corresponding increases, but which are not in assisted areas, are as follows:
South East
- Aldershot*
- Andover
- Ashford (Kent)
- Aylesbury
- Bedford*
- Braintree*
- Buckingham
- Chelmsford*
- Crawley*
- Guildford*
- Harlow*
- Harwich
- Hertford*
- High Wycombe*
- Hitchin*
- Luton*
- Reading*
251 - Slough*
- St. Albans*
- Stevenage
- Watford*
East Anglia
- Haverhill
South West
- Dursley
- Forest of Dean*
- Minehead
- Wareham*
West Midlands
- Birmingham*
- Burton-on-Trent
- Dudley and Sandwell*
- Redditch
- Shrewsbury
- Stratford-on-Avon
- Stoke-on-Trent*
- Uttoxeter
- Walsall*
- Wolverhampton*
East Midlands
- Alfreton
- Buxton*
- Derby*
- Hinckley
- Kettering
- Loughborough
- Market Harborough
- Matlock*
- Northampton*
- Rushden
- Wellingborough
Yorkshire and Humberside
- Dewsbury*
- Halifax*
- Huddersfield
- Selby
- Sheffield*
- Skipton
- Todmorden
North West
- Accrington*
- Ashton-under-Lyne*
- Barnoldswick
- Burnley*
- Bury*
- Clitheroe
- Crewe*
- Nelson*
- Oldham*
- Warrington*
* Travel-to-work area comrising two or more jobcentre areas.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the travel-to-work areas in England that had a trebling or more of their percentage unemployed between May 1979 and October 1982, ranking them according to the size of their increase; and if he will give the total number of travel-to-work areas in England.
§ Mr. AlisonOut of a total number of 280 travel-to-work areas in England the following, ranked as specified, had increases of 200 per cent. or more in their unemployment rates between May 1979 and October 1982.
252W
Travel-to-work area Percentage increase May 1979-October 1982 Rushden 447 *Buxton 340 *Dudley and Sandwell 326 Redditch 317 *Accrington 313 *Oldham 305 Hinckley 303 *Matlock 300 Todmorden 300 *Slough 295 Barnoldswick 289 *Rossendale 287 Kettering 286 *High Wycombe 284 *Hitchin 281 *Aldershot 275 Stratford-on-Avon 274 *Ashton-under-Lyne 273 Buckingham 273 *Walsall 271 Wellingbrough 269 Huddersfield 266 *Northwich 265 Stevenage 265 *Halifax 264 *Nelson 257 *Hertford 256 *St. Albans 256 *Harlow 253 *Watford 252 *Bury 249 Aylesbury 245 *Reading 244 *Stoke on Trent 244 *Scunthorpe 243 Shrewsbury 243 Skipton 243 Andover 242 Haverhill 242 *Wareham 241 *Crawley 240 *Luton 240 Rochdale 239 *Northampton 237 Clitheroe 235 Uttoxeter 235 Ashford (Kent) 233 *Guildford 233 Selby 224 Corby 223 *Forest of Dean 223 *Dewsbury 222 *Sheffield 222 *Braintree 221 *Crewe 221 Minehead 221 *Wolverhampton 221 *Burnley 220 Loughborough 217 *Birmingham 216 Alfreton 215 *Warrington 214 *Bedford 213 *Chelmsford 210 Harwich 209 Market Harborough 208 *Bolton 207 *Derby 206 *Leigh 204 Dursley 203 Burton-on-Trent 200 * Travel-to-work area comprising two or more jobcentre areas.
§ Dr. Edmund Marshallasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will list for every employment 253W office area in the Yorkshire and Humberside regions the April totals of unemployed men and women, respectively, and the percentage rates of unemployment.
§ Mr. GummerI shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
§ Mr. Gwilym Robertsasked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest figures available for the percentage of the potential working population which is unemployed; and what is the corresponding percentage of unemployed men over 60 years of age.
§ Mr. TebbitThe potential working population is open to various definitions. Taking the population of working age, the Great Britain unemployment rate at 14 April was 9.3 per cent. In January, the rate for men aged between 60 and 65 was 17.7 per cent. Taking the denominator of the employed population, the figures were 13.1 per cent. and 21.8 per cent. respectively.
§ Mr. Chapmanasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were signed off the unemployment register in the latest month for which figures are available; and what is his estimate of the number of people starting new employment that month.
§ Mr. AlisonIn the five weeks to 14 April, a total of 410,000 people ceased claiming unemployment benefit. The figure is not seasonally adjusted and includes 26,000 men aged 60 and over who no longer have to sign on at an unemployment benefit office to secure national insurance credits.
The latest estimate of labour turnover for the whole economy relates to the year ending March 1982, when there were about 6 million engagements, an average of 500,000 per month.