HC Deb 31 July 1984 vol 65 cc146-7W
25. Mr. Knox

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were out of work in the United Kingdom at the most recent count.

52. Mr. Dixon

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest figures for unemployment in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Alan Clark

On 14 June the number of unemployed claimants in the United Kingdom was 3,029,723. The figure does not include 123,573 unemployed school leavers under 18 years of age registered at careers offices who are not yet entitled to benefit.

36. Mr. Gorst

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the number of people in employment; and how this compares with the figure for June 1983.

Mr. Alan Clark

The latest estimate is for March 1984, when the number in the employed labour force in the United Kingdom was 23,990,000. The corresponding figure in June 1983 was 23,765,000. The figures are seasonally adjusted.

42. Mr. Norman Atkinson

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is satisfied that the topping-up method he now uses for assembling statistics of those in employment reflects the situation accurately.

Mr. Alan Clark

The method now used by my Department to derive statistics of those in employment is described in an article in the July edition ofEmployment Gazette, a copy of which is in the Library. I am satisfied that the results of this method, which uses the results of the 1983 labour force survey to adjust estimates derived from sample surveys of employers, provide reliable employment estimates, with consistent estimates for each industry and region. The estimates for recent periods will, of course, be reviewed as further data become available.

46. Mr. Straw

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest level of total unemployment, including school leavers, in the United Kingdom; and what was the corresponding figure 12 months before.

Mr. Alan Clark

In June 1984 the number of unemployed claimants in the United Kingdom, including school leavers, was 3,029,723. The corresponding number in June 1983 was 2,983,921. The figures are affected by the 1983 Budget provisions, which meant that some men aged 60 and over no longer had to sign on in order to receive supplementary benefit or national insurance credits. The effects of these provisions resulted in an estimated 161,800 men no longer having to sign on in April to August 1983. Also, the figures do not include unemployed school leavers under 18 years of age registered at careers offices who were not entitled to benefit; these numbered 123,573 in June 1984 and 128,433 in June 1983.