HC Deb 28 April 1988 vol 132 cc233-4W
Mr. Boyes

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current level of employment in(a) the north-east and (b) Houghton and Washington in numerical and percentage terms; and what are the comparable figures for each year since 1979.

Mr. Lee

Full working population figures are not available for areas of this size. Employee figures can be given, but only for dates when censuses of employment are taken. At September 1984, the latest date for which census estimates are available, there were 882,700 employees in employment in the north-east; the figure for the Houghton and Washington constituency was 28,400. The figures exclude the self-employed and members of Her Majesty's forces.

The earliest estimates on a comparable basis are for September 1981 when the previous census of employment was taken. There were then 940,600 employees employed in the north-east and 28,600 in the Houghton and Washington constituency.

Employees in employment in the textile1 industry in Great Britain
Thousands
Males Females
Full-time Part-time All Full-time Part-time All
June 1971 255.4 201.3 42.8 244.1
June 1972 248.1 192.8 39.7 232.5

Mr. Lofthouse

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the current unemployment and unfilled vacancies figures on his Department's register for the Castleford travel-to-work area.

Mr. Lee

The following information is in the Library. On 10 March 1988, the number of unemployed claimants in the Castleford and Pontefract travel-to-work area was 7,947. On 4 March 1988, the number of unfilled vacancies, excluding vacancies of the community programme, registered at jobcentres which closely correspond to the Castleford and Pontefract travel-to-work area was 385.

Mr. Woodcock

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the percentage fall in unemployment in each of the parliamentary constituencies in Cheshire since 1984; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Lee

The following information is in the Library. The table shows the number of unemployed claimants at 8 March 1984 and 10 March 1988, together with the percentage change for each parliamentary constituency in the county of Cheshire. The figures are affected by the change in the coverage of the count in March 1986.

Unemployed claimants
Constituency March 1984 March 1988 Percentage change
City of Chester 5,495 4,565 -16.9
Congleton 3,211 2,124 -33.9
Crewe and Nantwich 4,674 3,636 -22.2
Eddisbury 5,131 3,444 -32.9
Ellesmere Port and Neston 6,711 4,992 -25.6
Halton 8,245 6,184 -25.0
Macclesfield 3,326 2,344 -29.5
Tatton 3,569 2,699 -29.4
Warrington North 6,641 4,965 -25.2
Warrington South 6,172 4,862 -21.2