§ Mr. Freudasked the Secretary of State for Employment what has been for each year since 1979, the percentage unemployment rate for 16 to 25 year-olds, the over 50s and the overall rate (a) nationally, (b) in East Anglia and (c) in the Wisbech area; and what percentage of the unemployed have been out of work for (i) one year, (ii) two years and (iii) three years or more.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkThe following table gives the available information at April each year for the areas specified.
Comparisons over time are affected by the October 1982 change in the basis of the unemployment count and the 1983 Budget provisions which enabled an estimated 373W 162,000 men aged 60 and over to receive the higher rate of supplementary benefit and national insurance credits without having to sign on.
§ Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for Employment how unemployment statistics of cities with regional service functions are affected by his Department's new journey-to-work areas.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkUnemployment figures for the new travel-to-work areas are not yet available. An article containing figures for the new areas is planned for the September issue of theEmployment Gazette.
§ Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list, by rank order of those without work for over 52 weeks, those travel-to-work areas where total unemployment is over 10,000, at the latest convenient date.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkThe following table gives the information relating to unemployed claimants at 12 April, the latest date for which an analysis by duration is available.
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Numbers unemployed for over 52 weeks by travel-to-work areas Number Greater London 138,814 Birmingham 55,063 Liverpool 47,555 Glasgow 43,734 Manchester 41,704 Dudley and Sandwell 23,266 Teesside 21,057 Sheffield 17,607 Coventry 16,502 Nottingham 16,450 North Tyne 16,419 Leeds 16,388 South Tyne 14,837 Wearside 13,745 Birkenhead 13,672 Walsall 13,465 North Lanarkshire 13,463 Bristol 12,483 Wolverhampton 12,200 Hull 12,113 Cardiff 11,879 Edinburgh 11,713 Bradford 11,118 Southend 10,935 Stoke 10,564 Leicester 10,193 Doncaster 7,961 Portsmouth 7,946 Swansea 7,115 Chatham 6,944 Bolton 6,894 Preston 6,850 Paisley 6,635 Dundee 6,539 Derby 6,420 Southampton 6,363 Plymouth 6,284 Wigan 5,881 Brighton 5,800 Ashton-under-Lyne 5,786 St. Helens 5,625 Newport 5,607 Oakengates 5,568 Luton 5,532 Rotherham 5,469 Bournemouth 5,305 Widnes 5,299 Darlington and South/West Durham 5,257 Blackpool 5,130
Number Barnsley 5,122 Oldham and Chadderton 4,771 Port Talbot 4,759 Norwich 4,737 Pontypridd 4,688 Chesterfield 4,599 Warrington 4,552 Oxford 4,252 Scunthorpe 4,161 Huddersfield 4,099 Falkirk 3,947 Grimsby 3,840 Reading 3,795 Nottingham 3,673 Torbay 3,355
§ Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is satisfied that the new Birmingham journey-to-work area statistics will adequately reflect the position in the Birmingham inner city partnership core area.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkYes. TTWAs will remain the smallest areas for which my Department publishes unemployment rates. Figures for the new TTWAs will be published at the end of September. From mid 1985 detailed information about the numbers of unemployed will be available for any smaller areas, including inner city partnership areas, that can be defined or approximated in terms of local authority electoral wards.
§ Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current unemployment rate in the inner city partnership core area of Birmingham, compared with the city of Birmingham, the travel-to-work area of Birmingham, and the new journey-to-work area of Birmingham.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkMy Department only publishes unemployment rates for travel-to-work areas (TTWAs). The latest figure for the Birmingham TTWA relates to June and is published in table 2.4 of the July issue of theEmployment Gazette, a copy of which is in the Library. Unemployment figures for the new TTWAs are not yet available.
§ Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list regions by rank order of the percentage of males without work for over 52 weeks, giving a figure for Great Britain.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkFollowing is information relating to the claimant unemployed at 12 April, the latest date for which an analysis by duration of unemployment is available.
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Males unemployed for over 52 weeks as a percentage of total male unemployment Region Percentage Northern Ireland 53.7 West Midlands 50.9 North West 47.8 North 47.0 Wales 44.8 Scotland 43.8 Yorkshire and Humberside 43.8 East Midlands 40.7 South East 37.3 East Anglia 36.9 South West 35.5 The corresponding figure for Great Britain is 43.1 per cent.