§ Mr. McTaggartasked the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the average rate of unemployment in (a) Scotland and (b) the United Kingdom in each of the last six years.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkEstimates of unemployment rate for unemployed claimants in Scotland and the United Kingdom are available in the House of Commons Library. Comparisons are affected by the 1983 Budget provisions
Unemployment in OECD Latest date 1 year earlier 2 year earlier 3 year earlier 4 year earlier 5 year earlier 6 year earlier Level thousands Rate per cent. Level thousands Rate per cent. Level thousands Rate per cent. Level thousands Rate per cent. Level thousands Rate per cent. Level thousands Rate per cent. Level thousands Rate per cent. Canada Jan'85 1,483 12.2 1,473 12.4 1,611 13.7 1,103 9.5 944 8.2 945 8.5 974 9.0 United States Jan'85 9,131 8.0 9,755 8.8 12,517 11.4 10,183 9.4 8,746 8.2 7,234 6.9 6,602 6.4 Japan Dec'84 1,420 2.7 1,430 2.5 1,350 2.3 1,190 2.1 1,180 2.1 1,070 1.9 1,160 2.1 Australia Jan'85 655 9.3 719 10.3 695 10.1 440 6.5 430 6.5 438 6.7 446 7.0 New Zealand Dec'84 63 n/a 81 n/a 70 n/a 50 n/a 50 n/a 27 n/a 23 n/a Austria Jan'85 198 6.9 191 6.7 182 6.3 156 5.4 105 3.7 91 3.2 99 3.5 Belgium Jan'85 530 19.3 523 19.1 497 18.1 439 — 378 — 314 — 303 — Denmark Oct'85 257 9.8 277 10.5 255 9.7 242 9.2 200 7.6 141 5.4 181 6.8 Finland Nov'84 159 6.3 152 6.1 139 5.7 126 5.2 107 4.5 106 4.6 163 7.2 France Jan'85 2,553 13.3 2,252 11.7 2,130 11.1 2,034 10.6 1,680 8.9 1,485 7.9 1,356 7.2 Germany Jan'85 2,619 10.6 2,539 10.2 2,487 10.2 1,950 8.2 1,309 5.6 1,037 4.5 1,171 5.1 Greece Jan'85 113 6.6 95 5.7 91 5.5 71 4.5 71 4.4 61 4.0 55 n/a Ireland Jan'85 234 18.1 216 16.6 187 14.4 147 11.4 125 10.1 92 n/a 100 n/a Italy Oct'84 2,375 10.2 2,358 10.2 2,094 9.3 n/a 9.1 n/a 7.6 n/a 7.6 n/a 7.5 Luxembourg Jan'85 3 1.9 3 1.9 3 n/a 2 n/a 2 n/a 1 n/a 1 n/a Netherlands Dec'84 796 17.0 856 18.3 765 15.0 578 11.2 405 7.7 289 5.3 289 5.4 Norway Dec'84 65 3.2 72 3.5 63 3.2 36 1.8 30 1.5 25 1.4 30 1.6 Portugal Sep'84 303 n/a 253 n/a 227 n/a 237 n/a 270 n/a 297 n/a 287 n/a Spain Dec'84 2,604 21.7 2,342 18.7 2,151 17.8 1,744 15.8 1,415 12.8 1,130 9.7 905 7.7 Sweden Dec'84 123 2.8 147 3.4 140 3.2 125 2.9 86 2.0 74 1.7 86 2.1 Switzerland Dec'84 34 1.0 30 1.0 24 0.8 9 n/a 6 n/a 9 n/a 13 n/a Turkey Jul'84 781 n/a 538 n/a 428 n/a 248 n/a 281 n/a 164 n/a 173 n/a United Kingdom Jan'85 3,341 13.9 3,200 13.3 3,225 13.4 2,896 12.0 2,271 9.4 1,374 5.6 1,373 5.6 Yugoslavia Sep'84 995 n/a 914 n/a 871 n/a 817 n/a 792 n/a 767 n/a 737 n/a Iceland — n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a=Not available Source: OECD "Main Economic Indicators" and "Historical Statistics" supplemented by Labour Attache reports
§ Mr. McTaggartasked the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the average rate of unemployment in each of the member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in each of the last six years.
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Unemployment rates in OECD member countries 1979–1984 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 *Canada 7.4 7.4 7.5 10.9 11.8 11.2 *United States 5.8 7.0 7.5 9.5 9.5 7.4 *Japan 2.1 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.7 which enable some men, mainly aged 60 and over, to receive the long-term rate of supplementary benefit or national insurance credits without having to sign on at an unemployment benefit office.
§ Mr. McTaggartasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the numbers in the following age categories: (a) 16 to 18-year-olds, (b) 18 to 25-yearolds, (c) 25 to 50-year-olds and (d) those over 50 years of age who were (i) registered as unemployed and (ii) on a Government training scheme in (1) Scotland and (2) the United Kingdom at the latest available date and on the equivalent date in each of the last six years.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonI shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
§ Mr. McTaggartasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the number of unemployed in each of the member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development at the latest available date and on the equivalent dates in each of the last six years; and if he will also express these figures as percentage rates of unemployment for the countries concerned.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkFollowing is the available information. The unemployment figures are not fully comparable owing to national differences in concepts and definitions.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkFollowing is the available information. The unemployment figures on national definitions are not fully comparable owing to differences in coverage. The OECD standardised rates take account of these differences as far as possible.
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1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 *Australia 6.2 6.0 5.7 7.1 9.9 8.9 New Zealand n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a *Austria 2.1 1.9 2.5 3.5 4.1 n/a *Belgium 8.2 8.8 10.8 12.6 13.9 14.0 †Denmark 6.1 7.0 9.2 9.8 10.7 n/a *Finland 5.9 4.6 5.1 5.8 6.1 6.0 *France 5.9 6.3 7.3 8.0 8.0 8.9 *Germany 3.2 3.0 4.4 6.1 8.0 8.1 ‡Greece n/a 1.1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.9 Iceland n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a ‡Ireland n/a 8.2 10.2 12.2 14.9 16.5 *Italy 7.5 7.5 8.3 9.0 9.8 n/a ‡Luxembourg n/a 0.7 1.0 1.3 1.5 1.7 *Netherlands 5.4 6.0 8.6 11.4 13.7 14.0 *Norway 2.0 1.7 2.0 2.6 3.3 3.0 Portugal n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a *Spain 8.5 11.2 14.0 15.9 17.4 n/a *Sweden 2.1 2.0 2.5 3.1 3.5 3.1 Switzerland n/a n/a n/a 0.4 0.9 n/a Turkey n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a *United Kingdom 5.6 6.9 10.5 12.3 13.1 13.2 Yugoslavia n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Notes n/a Not available * OECD standardised unemployment rates † National definitions of unemployment ‡ Eurostat estimate