§ 33. Mr. Skinnerasked the Paymaster General how many times the method of compiling the unemployment figures has been changed by his Department since 1979.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThere have been two changes to the method of compiling the unemployment figures and a further minor statistical change to reduce over-recording in Northern Ireland.
§ 34. Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Paymaster General what was the most recent percentage level of unemployment in the United Kingdom; and what were the comparable average percentages for the rest of the European Economic Community and for the EFTA nations, respectively, on the most recent date for which such comparative figures are available.
§ Mr. LeeThe latest available information is as follows:
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Percentage levels of unemployment: OECD Standardised rates (unless otherwise stated) Seasonally adjusted Month Per cent. United Kingdom October 111.5 Spain June 21.0
Month Per cent. Ireland September 218.3 Belgium August 12.1 Netherlands August 12.1 Italy April 11.3 France August 10.5 Denmark August 27.9 Portugal August 28.4 Greece August 25.4 Luxemburg September 21.4 Finland August 6.9 Austria March 3.5 Sweden July 2.5 Norway May 1.9 Germany August 8.3 1 National figure, seasonally adjusted excluding school leavers. OECD standardised rate for United Kingdom not available since May (13.3 per cent.) pending review of calculations and new information from the labour force surveys. 2 National Definitions (OECD Standardised rate not available).
§ 44. Mr. Canavanasked the Paymaster General what is the total number of unemployed people in the United Kingdom.
§ 86. Mr. Andrew MacKayasked the Paymaster General if he will make a statement of the current level of unemployment.
§ Mr. LeeOn 9 October 1986, the number of unemployed claimants in the United Kingdom was 3,237,154.
§ 54. Mr. Loydenasked the Paymaster General if he will give the number of long-term unemployed in the Merseyside travel-to-work area.
§ Mr. LeeOn 9 October 1986, the number of claimants in the Liverpool travel-to-work area who had been unemployed for over one year was 54,045.
§ 71. Mr. Greg Knightasked the Paymaster General what are the latest figures in respect of people in work in the United Kingdom; and how they compare with the figures available for June 1983.
§ Mr. LeeIn June 1986, the latest date for which figures are available, the United Kingdom employed labour force was 24.595.000, seasonally adjusted: this compares with 23,603,000 in June 1983.
§ 74. Mr. Flanneryasked the Paymaster General what was the number of people unemployed in November 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1985, respectively.
§ Mr. LeeThe following table shows the estimated number of unemployed claimants excluding school leavers, adjusted for seasonality and discontinuity, for the United Kingdom for each of the years requested.
Year November Total 1980 1,808,800 1981 2,462,500 1982 2,740,700 1983 2,904,600 1984 3,055,200 1985 3,113,800
§ 75. Mr. Wallaceasked the Paymaster General what proportion of those leaving the unemployment register sign on again within three months; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. LeeBased on a sample it would appear that about a quarter of the total number of claimants who ceased to be unemployed in Great Britain in 1985 returned to unemployment within three months of leaving the count.
§ 79. Mr. Dubsasked the Paymaster General how many people are unemployed; and how many have been out of work for over 12 months.
§ Mr. LeeOn 9 October 1986, the number of unemployed claimants in the United Kingdom was 3,237,154. Of these 1,340,985 had been unemployed for over 12 months.
§ 82. Mr. Yeoasked the Paymaster General how many people are employed in Britain at the latest available date.
§ Mr. LeeIn June 1986, the latest date for which figures are available, the employed labour force in Great Britain was 24,060,000. The figure has been adjusted for seasonal variations.
§ 83. Mr. Amessasked the Paymaster General if he will list the number of people registered as being unemployed in the constituency of Basildon for each of the last five years.
§ Mr. LeeFollowing is the available information. The table shows the numbers of unemployed claimants in the Basildon parliamentary constituency in October of each year since 1983. The comparison is affected by the change in the timing of the compilation of unemployment statistics in March 1986. Statistics of unemployment for parliamentary constituencies are derived from the new ward-based system and are available only from June 1983.
Number October 1983 6,372 October 1984 6,972 October 1985 6,492 October 1986 6,159