HC Deb 10 February 1987 vol 110 cc161-2W
Mr. Ralph Howell

asked the Paymaster General what is the total number of (a) unskilled and (b) partly skilled persons in the work force of Britain; and what information he has on comparable figures in other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, showing in each case the actual figure and percentage of the total work force.

Mr. Lee

Estimates from the labour force survey conducted in the spring of 1985 show that at that time there were almost 1.3 million unskilled and just over 4 million semi-skilled manual workers in paid employment in Great Britain, representing respectively some 5.4 per cent. and 16.9 per cent. of all workers in paid employment. There are no figures for other OECD countries using comparable skill definitions.

Mr. Fatchett

asked the Paymaster General how many people are registered as unemployed in each of the four city council wards within the Leeds, Central parliamentary constituency; and what is the percentage increase or decrease of the 1979 figures for each ward.

Mr. Lee

The following information is in the Library. Figures are given showing the numbers of unemployed claimants in the wards of the Leeds, Central parliamentary constituency on 11 December 1986. Statistics of unemployment from the ward-based system are available only from June 1983.

Number
Beeston 1,213
City and Holbeck 2,203
Richmond Hill 1,944
University 2,113