HC Deb 23 May 1988 vol 134 c49W
Mr. Alan Williams

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what change took place in the numbers of(a) unemployed and (b) employed in Wales in the four years to July 1987.

Mr. Peter Walker

[holding answer 20 May 1988]: The available information is as follows:

( Thousands at mid June)
1984 1985 1986 1987
Unemployed claimants1 163 173 174 151
Employees in employment 886 877 861 863
Self employed 144 146 154 148

Source: Department of Employment

1 Because of a change in the compilation of the unemployment statistics unadjusted figures from February 1986 are not directly comparable with earlier figures.

Latest figures show a further decrease of 11,000 for unemployed claimants (unadjusted, April 1988) an increase of 700 for employees in employment (December 1987).

The current unemployment figure is now the lowest since 1981.