§ 8. Mr. Strawasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many fewer people are currently employed in the United Kingdom than there were in May 1979.
§ 15. Mr. Home Robertsonasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many more people were in employment in May 1979 than at the present time.
§ Mr. Tom KingBetween June 1979 and March 1983 the number of people in the employed labour force in the United Kingdom fell by an estimated 1.8 million. More recently however, the number of people in work has been rising and between March 1983 and December 1984 the United Kingdom employed labour force increased by 600,000.
§ 16. Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the latest unemployment figures.
§ 17. Mr. Sean Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest number of people unemployed.
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§ Mr. Alan ClarkOn 9 May, the number of unemployed claimants in the United Kingdom was 3,241,000.
§ 20. Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the numbers of people who have been unemployed for over 12 months; and what was the figure in April 1979.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkOn 11 April 1985 the number of claimants in the United Kingdom who had been unemployed for over 12 months was 1,334,000. The corresponding figure for April 1979, relating to unemployed registrants, was 367,000.
§ 23. Mr. Hirstasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are in employment at the latest date compared to June 1983; how many people are engaged in training schemes at the latest date compared to June 1983; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonThe employed labour force in Great Britain was estimated as 23,627,000 in December 1984, the latest date for which figures are available. The corresponding figure for June 1983 was 23,040,000. These figures are seasonally adjusted. There were at least 300,000 people engaged in training schemes administered by the Manpower Services Commission at the end of March 1985, the latest date for which figures are available. This compares with an estimated 208,000 at the end of June 1983. In addition there were a number of people engaged on specialist and experimental training schemes.
§ 28. Mr. Skinnerasked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest unemployment figures; and if he will make a statement.
§ 55. Mr. Jack Thompsonasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest number of people unemployed; and what that is as a percentage of the workforce.
§ 62. Mr. Allen McKayasked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the current numbers unemployed; and what this is as a proportion of the work force.
§ 74. Mr. Loydenasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the latest national unemployment figures.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkOn 9 May 1985, the number of unemployed claimants in the United Kingdom was 3,240,947, representing an unemployment rate of 13.4 per cent.
§ 38. Mr. David Marshallasked the Secretary of Slate for Employment how many fewer people are currently employed in the United Kingdom than there were in May 1979.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkBetween June 1979 (figures are not available for May) and December 1984, the employed labour force in the United Kingdom, that is employees in employment plus the self-employed plus Her Majesty's Forces, fell by an estimated 1,202,000.
§ 49. Mr. Fallonasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people have been placed in work in the northern region by the professional and executive register in the most recent year for which figures are available.
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§ Mr. Peter MorrisonIn the financial year ending 31 March 1985, Professional and Executive Recruitment placed 616 people in work in Cleveland, Tyne and Wear, Northumberland and Durham.
§ 50. Mr. Boyesasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest number of people unemployed; and how many of them are aged 50 to 60 years.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkOn 11 April 1985, the latest date for which an analysis of unemployment by age is available, the number of unemployed claimants in the United Kingdom was 3,272,565, of whom 508,703 were aged between 50 and 59 years.
§ 57. Mr. John Fraserasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are now unemployed in Lambeth; and how many have been unemployed for more than 12 months.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkOn 11 April 1985, the number of unemployed claimants in the London borough of Lambeth was 25,989. Of these it is provisionally estimated that about 11,000 had been unemployed for more than 12 months. This figure includes an estimate for those whose claims are not dealt with by computer.
§ 60. Mr. Evansasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current total number of people employed; and how many of those are in full-time employment.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkIn December 1984, the latest date for which information is available, there were an estimated 20,832,000 employees in employment in Great Britain, 11,593,000 of whom were males and 9,239,000 were females. It is estimated that of the total females, 4,957,000 worked full time. A corresponding figure for full-time males is not available.
§ 63. Mr. Roy Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current rate of unemployment; and how this compares with the figure for June 1979.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkOn 9 May 1985, the unemployment rate in the United Kingdom was 13.4 per cent, compared with 5.1 per cent, in June 1979.
§ 66. Mr. Fisherasked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the numbers of people who have been unemployed for over one year, two years, and three years, respectively; and what plans the Government have for re-training or re-employing those who do not find places in the community programme.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonIn April 1985 there were 1,334,161 claimants who had been unemployed for over one year, including 790,086 unemployed for more than two years and 484,314 for over three years. Our White Paper, "Employment: The Challenge for the Nation" (Cmnd. 9474) describes the current range of employment and training measures and explains our strategy to achieve sustained economic growth. It is only through such growth that more permanent jobs for unemployed people will be created.
§ 68. Mr. Strangasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are currently in work in the United Kingdom; and what were the figures for May 1979.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkIn December 1984, the latest date for which information is available, there were an estimated396W 24,154,000 people in the United Kingdom in the employed labour force (that is, employees in employment plus the self-employed plus Her Majesty's Forces). The corresponding figure for June 1979 (May is not available) was 25,356,000. The figures are adjusted to take account of seasonal variations.
§ 70. Mr. Garrettasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were in full-time employment in May 1979; and what is the present figure.
§ Mr. Alan Clarkin December 1984, the latest date for which information is available, out of a total of 9,239,000 female employees in employment in Great Britain, 4,957,000 worked full-time. The total male figure of 11,593,000 is not broken down to full-time and part-time. In June 1979, the corresponding figures were 9,455,000 total females of which 5,585,000 worked full-time, together with a total of 13,183,000 male employees in employment.
§ 76. Mr. Hardyasked the Secretary of State for Employment by what number the working age population and the number of unemployed pensions increased between 1975 and 1979 and between 1980 and 1984.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkIt is estimated that between 1975 and 1979 the working age population of Great Britain increased by 785,000, while unemployment rose by 332,200 over the same period. The corresponding estimated increases between 1980 and 1984 in Great Britain were 1,151,000 and 1,447,900 respectively.
The comparisons of unemployment are affected by the 1983 Budget provisions which mean that some men, mainly aged 60 years and over, no longer need to sign on in order to receive supplementary benefits or national insurance credits. It is estimated that some 160,000 men were affected in Great Britain between April and August 1983.
§ Sir David Priceasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he is satisfied that the methods of calculating the employed labour force measure correctly the self-employed and part-timers; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkEstimates of the self-employed are obtained from the census of population updated by the labour force survey.
Estimates of employees in employment, with full and part-time employees separately identified for each sex, are obtained from the triennial census of employment. These are updated, with part-time female employees separately identified, using quarterly sample surveys of employers and the labour force survey.
The methods used are described in detail in the article "Revised Employment Estimates for 1981 to 1984" published in the March 85 edition ofEmployment Gazette, a copy of which is in the Library. The estimates are, of course, reviewed as further data become available.
I am satisfied that the estimates provide a good guide to the number of the self-employed and part-time employees. Because sampling techniques are used the estimates are subject to some imprecision. The Department's statisticians continually review the methods to try to improve the estimates in terms of accuracy and cost-effectiveness.