§ Mr. Pikeasked the Paymaster General how many job vacancies there were in the Burnley travel-to-work area at the last date for which figures are available; and what were the comparable figures in 1979 and subsequent years.
§ Mr. LangThe table shows the numbers of unfilled vacancies at the Burnley and Padiham jobcentres, which cover an area closely corresponding to the Burnley travel-to-work area, for April of each year from 1979 to 1986. Vacancy figures before April 1982 exclude self-employed vacancies.
Number April 1979 409 April 1980 268 April1981 114 April 1982 215 April 1983 429 April1984 267 April 1985 249 April1986 250
§ Mr. Pikeasked the Paymaster General what was the level of long-term unemployment in Burnley at the latest date for which figures are available; and what were the comparable figures in 1979 and subsequent years.
§ Mr. LangThe following information is in the Library. On 10 April 1986 the number of claimants in the Burnley travel-to-work area who had been unemployed for more than 12 months was 2,425. The corresponding figures for April 1984 and April 1985 were 2,360 and 2,411 respectively. This comparison is affected by the change in the timing of compilation of unemployment statistics in March 1986. Larger discontinuities occurred in the local area statistics in 1982 and 1983, with the change in the basis of the count, the 1983 Budget provisions, the introduction of ward-based statistics and the revision to boundaries of travel-to-work areas. Therefore the figures for earlier years are not directly comparable.