§ Mr. Skinnerasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the rate of employment in the service industries in the east midlands as compared with the national rate.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkIn September 1984, the latest date for which information is available, it is estimated that of the 1,419,000 employees in employment in the east midlands, 755,000 or 53 per cent. were employed in the service industries. The corresponding proportion for Great Britain was 64 per cent.
§ Mr. Skinnerasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the level of unemployment in Derbyshire at the latest available date; and what was the comparable figure in May 1979.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkThe following information is in the Library. On 14 February 1985 the number of unemployed claimants in Derbyshire was 49,681. It is difficult to make a comparison with May 1979, because of the change in the basis of the count in October 1982, the 1983 Budget provisions which mean that some men, mainly aged 60 or over, no longer need to sign on at the unemployment benefit offices to receive benefit, and the change to a ward-based sytem for allocating claimants to localities. The number of registered unemployed in jobcentre areas approximating to Derbyshire in May 1979 was 14,988.
§ Mr. Skinnerasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many 18 to 24-year-olds were unemployed in the east midlands in 1979 and 1984.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkThe following information is in the Library. The table shows figures for registered unemployed in the east midlands in October 1979, for unemployed claimants in October 1984, and figures for October 1982 on both bases.
The comparison is affected by the change in the basis of the unemployment count in October 1982.
Unemployment in East Midlands—18 to 24 years of age Numbers Unemployed registrants October 1979 24,332 October 1982 57,697 Unemployed claimants October 1982 54,021 October 1984 62,309
§ Mr. Skinnerasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the rate of youth unemployment in the east midlands at the latest available date.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkUnemployment rates by age are calculated at national level only.
§ Mr. Skinnerasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people in the east midlands have been unemployed for more than one year at the latest available date.
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§ Mr. Alan ClarkThe following information is in the Library. On 10 January 1985, the latest date for which an analysis of unemployment by duration is available, a total of 76,783 claimants in the east midlands region had been unemployed for over one year.
§ Mr. Skinnerasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people became unemployed in the east midlands between December 1983 and December 1984.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkThe following information is in the Library. In the period between December 1983 and December 1984, on average 23,900 claimants became unemployed each month in the east midlands region, while an average of 22,800 claimants per month ceased to be unemployed.
§ Mr. Skinnerasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were unemployed in the east midlands in 1979 and 1984; and what was the rise in the rate of unemployment in that period.
§ Mr Alan ClarkThe following information is in the Library. The average number of unemployed claimants in the east midlands region in 1984 was 193,400 representing an unemployment rate of 12.1 per cent. The corresponding estimate for 1979 was 70,900, an unemployment rate of 4.4 per cent.
The comparison is affected by the 1983 Budget provisions which means 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 14,600 men in the east midlands were affected.
§ Mr. Fatchettasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list, for the latest available date, the current level of unemployment for the 16 to 19 age group by region, and the percentage of the total regional unemployment which this represents.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkThe following information is in the Library. The figures relate to unemployed claimants on 10 January 1985, the latest date for which an analysis of unemployment by age is available.
Unemployment by region—Under 20 years of age Region Number unemployed Percentage of region total South-East 121,799 15.3 East Anglia 14,243 17.2 South-West 34,877 16.3 West Midlands 60,954 17.1 East Midlands 34,426 16.7 Yorkshire and Humberside 57,250 18.4 North-West 80,230 17.4 North 43,112 17.7 Wales 33,778 18.2 Scotland 71,606 19.8 Northern Ireland 19,389 15.7