HC Deb 25 October 1984 vol 65 cc670-1W
Mr. Parry

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what were the unemployment figures for the Liverpool travel-to-work area at the latest date.

Mr. Alan Clark

On 13 September 1984 the total number of unemployed claimants in the Liverpool travel-to-work area was 106,822 and the unemployment rate was 21.1 per cent.

Mr. Parry

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the latest unemployment figures for Merseyside.

Mr. Alan Clark

It must be recognised that an important influence on the number of jobs is the level of wages. This affects firms' profits, and thus their investment decisions, and competitiveness. In Merseyside, for instance, the average earnings of manual males rose by 7.8 per cent. between April 1983 and April 1984, 2.6 per cent. more than the rate of inflation. In the latter half of 1983, and the first quarter of 1984, our unit wage costs in manufacturing increased significantly whilst those of some of our main competitors were stable or falling.

Moderating the growth of real wages will have a significant impact on unemployment, in Merseyside and throughout the country.

Mr. Tony Banks

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what were the total number of males and females unemployed at each of the employment exchanges in the London Docklands in July 1981, July 1982, July 1983 and July 1984, respectively.

Males
Jobcentre area Registered unemployed Unemployed claimants
July 1981 July 1982 October 1982 October 1982 July 1983 July 1984
Bermondsey 1,659 1,913 2,023 2,326 2,484 2,579
East Ham 3,073 3,554 3,778 3,824 4,109 4,314
Plaistow 3,254 3,762 3,634 3,113 3,114 3,224
Poplar 4,393 5,054 5,318 4,182 4,538 4,726
Stepney 4,609 5,488 4,888 4,407 4,728 4,239

Females
Jobcentre area Registered unemployed Unemployed claimants
July 1981 July 1982 October 1982 October 1982 July 1983 July 1984
Bermondsey 416 534 601 637 721 840
East Ham 1,142 1,237 1,465 1,530 1,757 1,954
Plaistow 1,190 1,348 1,297 995 1,043 1,092
Poplar 1,293 1,592 1,683 1,404 1,525 1,653
Stepney 912 1,000 923 819 883 930

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