HC Deb 22 January 1985 vol 71 c364W
Mr. Gareth Wardell

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will rank, for the most recent available date, the regions within the European Economic Community by (a) total unemployment rate and (b) gross domestic product per inhabitant.

Mr. Ian Stewart

Comparable data are not available for individual regions within the European Community, but an approximate ordering of unemployment by country is possible using data provided by the statistical office of the European Community. A ranking for all EC countries other than Luxembourg and Greece for the third quarter 1984 is as follows.

Comparisons of gross domestic product per inhabitant are very sensitive to changes in the exchange rate. A set of estimates designed to overcome this problem is published by the OECD using purchasing power parities. A provisional ranking for 1984 is shown in the following table.

(a) Unemployment Rates (per cent.) Third Quarter 1984
per cent.
1. Ireland 16.50
2. Belgium 15.25
3. Netherlands 14.75
4. Italy 12.75
5. United Kingdom 12
6. France 10
7. Denmark 9.50
8. Germany 8

(b) Real Gross Domestic Product (US=100) per Capita 1984
per cent.
1. Denmark 81
2. Germany 79
3. Luxembourg 76
4. France 75
5. Belgium 74
6. Netherlands 69
7. United Kingdom 66
8. Italy 57
9. Ireland 45
10. Greece 38

Notes:

  1. (a) Registered unemployed as a percentage of labour force-national definitions;

Source: Eurostatistics December 1984.

  1. (b) Real gross domestic product using current purchasing power parities;

Source: OECD Economics and Statistics Department Working Paper No. 17, December 1984. Preliminary estimates.