§ 22. Mr. Holtasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give figures showing the expansion of the working population, and the increase in numbers of people in work over the last 12 months.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkThe latest estimates are included in table 1.1 of the labour market data section of the April 1984 edition ofEmployment Gazette, a copy of which is available in the Library.
§ 34. Mr. Evansasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people have been unemployed for two years or more; and how many of them are over 50 years of age.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkInformation about the age and duration of unemployment is available quarterly with the latest figures relating to April 1984. On 5 April there were 655,768 unemployed claimants in the United Kingdom who had been unemployed for more than 104 weeks, of which, 179,673 were aged 50 years and over.
§ 40. Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the latest unemployment figures.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkThe seasonally adjusted level of claimant unemployment (excluding school leavers) in May increased by 17,700; this followed a fall of 700 in April and a rise of 6,500 in March. In the three months to May, the seasonally adjusted rise averaged 7,800 a month, compared with 22,200 in the previous three months to February.
§ 48. Mr. Gareth Wardellasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total number of people unemployed in the United Kingdom.
§ 49. Mr. Skinnerasked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest figures for unemployment in the United Kingdom.
§ 55. Mr. Flanneryasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest available number of unemployed.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkOn 10 May the total number of unemployed claimants in the United Kingdom was 3,084,457.
§ 50. Mr. Boyesasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total number of people in the travel-to-work areas covered by the Houghton and Washington constituency aged over 50 years who are currently unemployed; and how many of them are women.
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§ Mr. Alan ClarkInformation about the age of the employed is unavailable quarterly with the latest figures relating to April 1984. On 5 April, in the area covered by the Houghton-le-Spring and Washington jobcentres, there were 1,253 unemployed claimants aged 50 years and over, 221 of whom were women.
§ 51. Mr. Litherlandasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are currently in work in the United Kingdom at the latest available date; and what were the comparable figures for May 1979.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkIn December 1983 the employed labour force in the United Kingdom, that is employees in employment, the self-employed and Her Majesty's forces, was estimated to be 23,867,000. The corresponding estimate for June 1979, not available for May, was 25,356,000. Both these figures have been adjusted for seasonal variations.
§ 60. Mr. Parkasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest number of people unemployed; and how many of these are over 50 years of age.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkInformation on the age of the unemployed is available quarterly with the latest figures relating to April 1984. On 5 April, out of a total number of 3,107,682 unemployed claimants in the United Kingdom, 575,243 were aged 50 years and over.
§ Mr. Allan Robertsasked the Secretary of State for Employment how the latest British levels of unemployment compares with those of the other European Economic Community member countries.
§ Mr. GummerThe unemployment rates for April 1984 as published by the statistical office of the European Community are as follows. The figures are based on national data, and although standardised to the greatest extent possible are not fully comparable because of differences in concepts and coverage of unemployment. This consideration applies particularly to Greece.
Unemployment in the European Community: April 1984 Percentage of civilian working population Ireland 16.8 Netherlands 14.6 Belgium 13.7 Italy 13.3 United Kingdom 11.8 Denmark 11.0 France 9.8 Germany 8.4 Greece 1.8 Luxembourg 1.5 Source: EUROSTAT Monthly unemployment bulletin March 1984.