§ Sir Fergus Montgomeryasked the Paymaster General what was the total number of persons in (a) employment and (b) self-employment at the latest date for which figures are available; and what are the comparable figures for (i) 1983, (ii) 1979 and (iii) 1974.
§ Mr. LeeThe information is as follows:
Employment in Great Britain1 Thousand Employees in employment Self-employed Employed labour force June 1974 22,297 1,935 24,577 June 1979 22,638 1,842 24,794 June 1983 20,572 2,160 23,054 June 1986 21,070 2,665 24,056 1The sum of employees in employment, the self-employed and HM Forces.
§ Mr. Meacherasked the Paymaster General (1) what is the percentage in each social class I to V who are unemployed; and by how much has each of these percentages changed since 1979;
(2) what are the latest figures for the unemployment rate for each of the social classes I to V; and what were the corresponding rates in 1979.
50W
§ Mr. LeeThe available information which comes from the labour force survey is shown in the table below:
Numbers of people without a job and actively looking for work as a percentage of those economically active in each group Great Britain Previous social class Spring 1979 per cent. Spring 1985 per cent. Change per cent. I. Professional etc. occupations 1 1.5 1 II. Intermediate occupations 1.6 3.5 +1.9 III. Skilled occupations 3.0 6.7 +3.7 IV. Partly skilled occupations 5.2 9.6 +4.4 V. Unskilled occupations 8.2 12.7 +4.5 Not classified3 2 2 2 All unemployed 5.6 10.6 +5.0 1No meaningful rate can be computed for this group because of the sampling error that would be involved. 2No meaningful figure can be computed for this group. 3This category numbered 574,000 in 1979 and 1,155,000 in 1985 and consists of three groups (i) people who had never had a job, (ii) former members of the armed forces, and (iii) those who had been unemployed for a long time (over 1 year in 1979, over 3 years in 1985) who were not asked about their previous occupation.
§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Paymaster General what is the accuracy of figures for unemployment and vacancies in Greater London issued by the Department of Employment.
§ Mr. LeeI am satisfied that the monthly unemployment count is an accurate record of those claiming benefits. Less frequent estimates of those without jobs seeking work are available from surveys. Results of the labour force survey conducted in spring 1985 showed some 327,000 people in Greater London without a job and looking for work compared with an average of 399,000 claiming benefits in the same period.
I am also satisfied that the monthly vacancy count is an accurate count of vacancies unfilled at jobcentres. Our latest information suggests that, nationally, about one third of all vacancies are notified to jobcentres. This proportion differs amongst regions.
§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Paymaster General what was the total number of (a) unemployed and (b) vacancies in Greater London in 1978 on the present method of calculation; and what it has been in each year since.
51W
§ Mr. LeeThe available information, which is also in the Library is as follows:
Unemployed claimants in Greater London excluding school leavers adjusted for discontinuities and seasonality—November each year Number 1978 122,000 1979 104,800 1980 174,600 1981 267,500 1982 305,400 1983 345,900 1984 371,900 1985 386,800 1986 393,300
Unfilled vacancies at job centres1 in Greater London—November each year Number 1980 17,787 1981 18,186 1982 20,039 1983 25,607 1984 27,479 1985 27,706 1986 36,842 1Excluding vacancies on Government programmes and vacancies notified to Professional and Executive Recruitment. Including self-employed vacancies.
§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Paymaster General what was the total of people on Department of Employment schemes in Greater London in 1978 and each year since; and how many of these were aged (a) 16 to 17, (b) 17 to 18, (c) 18 to 19 and (d) 19 to 20 years.