§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the level of youth unemployment in Scotland at the latest date; and what were the figures for May 1979.
§ Mr. Allan StewartThe information is not available for May 1979, but in April 1979 the number of unemployed people under the age of 25 years was 67,844. In January 1986, the latest date for which information is available, the corresponding figure was 146,209. The figures are not comparable due to changes in the compilation of stasistics over the period.
§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the number of long-time unemployed in Scotland at the latest date and the comparable figure for May 1979; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Allan StewartThe information is not available for May 1979, but in April 1979 the number of registered unemployed people in Scotland who had been unemployed for 12 months or more was 45,578. In January 1986, the latest date for which information is available, the number of unemployed people claiming benefit who had been unemployed for 12 months or more was 146,976. The figures are not directly comparable because of various changes over the period in the compilation of unemployment statistics.
§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the number of job vacancies in Scotland at the latest date; and what was the figure in May 1979.
§ Mr. Allan StewartThe number of unfilled vacancies at jobcentres in Scotland in May 1979 was 23,855. In April 1986, the latest date for which information is available, the number was 19,296. The figures are not comparable, however, because of changes in the basis of the statistical compilation. The number of vacancies notified to jobcentres is estimated overall to be only about one third of the total of vacanices available at any time.