§ Mr. Sheermanasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give his best estimate of the rise in youth unemployment since 1979 that can be attributed to the three factors cited in the White Paper, "Employment: The Challenge for the Nation", Cmnd. 9474, namely, the general shortage of jobs, the high relative pay of young people, and the disadvantages of those who missed the big expansion of youth training since 1983, paragraph 3.11.
§ Mr. Peter Morrison[pursuant to his reply, 4 April 1985, c. 776–77]: Each of the three factors identified in paragraph 3.12 of the White Paper (Cmnd. 9474) has, singly or in combination, affected the current level of youth unemployment.
Isolating the precise individual effects of each is not possible. However, evidence is available from research carried out in my Department and elsewhere about the effects of high relative pay and the general shortage of jobs on the employment prospects of young people. There is 171W also international evidence that high relative pay has damaged young people's employment prospects. I shall send the hon. Member the relevant references.
In relation to the third factor, those who have not benefited under the youth training scheme will be less well equipped to take up job opportunities than those who have received training or gained work experience.