§ Mr. Formanasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people at the latest available date have been registered as unemployed (a) who are 24 years old or younger, (b) who are 55 years old or older and (c) who have no educational or vocational qualifications; and what were the comparable figures for 1971, 1981 and 1983.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkFollowing is the available information by age from the unemployment count for Great Britain.
unemployed: Great Britain Aged under 25 Aged 55 years and over Registered unemployed July 1971 230,342 168,464 October 1981 1,144,325 428,026 Unemployed claimants October 1983 1,210,702 351,186 October 1984 1,236,063 350,263 The comparisons are affected by the change in the basis of the unemployment count in October 1982 and by the 1983 Budget provisions which enable some men, mainly aged 60 and over, to receive the long-term rate of supplementary benefit and national insurance credits without having to sign on at an unemployment benefit office. Between April and August 1983 an estimated 161,800 men were affected.
The monthly unemployment count does not separately identify persons with and without qualifications. However, the labour force survey provides information about the qualifications of persons aged 16–59 without a job who were looking for work in the week before the survey. Results now available from the 1983 survey, and corresponding figures from the 1981 survey are given in the following table. There was no labour force survey in 1971.
362W
Great Britain: Thousands Persons aged 16 to 59 1981 1983 Unemployed, seeking work 2,330 2,810 of whom: no qualifications 1,240 1,420