§ Mr. Andrew WelshTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list(a) the number of alterations to the method of calculating unemployment statistics between August 1984 and August 1988, (b) the net effect of each alteration and (c) the percentage reduction in unemployed claimants attributable to the changes in the method of calculation.
§ Mr. LeeThere has been only one significant change to the method of calculating the unemployment figures since August 1984. From March 1986 the compilation of the unemployment figures has been delayed by two weeks. This removed mistaken over-recording caused by the late arrival of information about the status of claimants. The estimated effect at the time was an average reduction of 50,000 or "1.5 per cent. in the recorded number of unemployed claimants.
§ Mr. Andrew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment of the vacancies currently listed at the Oxford jobcentre, what is the breakdown by(a) sector of employment, (b) whether full-time or part-time and (c) remuneration offered.
§ Mr. LeeThe following is the available information. The table shows the number of unfilled vacancies by industry at Oxford jobcentre on 5 August 1988, the latest available date for this analysis. Of the 1,500 unfilled vacancies on that date, 1,016 were full-time and 484 were part-time. The statistics are not available by level of renumeration offered.
610W
Vacancies at Oxford jobcentre by standard industrial classification Category description (80 classification) Unfilled vacancy 01 Agriculture, forestry and fishing 4 02 Coal extraction 0 03 Mineral oil and natural gas extraction 0 04 Mineral oil processing 0 05 Nuclear fuel production 0 06 Gas, electricity and water 7 07 Extraction of other minerals and ores 1 08 Metal manufacture 16 09 Manufacture of non-metallic products 1 10 Chemical industry 6 11 Production of man-made fibres 0 12 Manufacture of metal goods 7 13 Mechanical engineering 19 14 Manufacture: office machinery/D.P. equipment 6 15 Electrical and electronic engineering 17 16 Manufacture of motor vehicles 13
Category description (80 classification) Unfilled vacancy 17 Shipbuilding and repairing 0 18 Manufacture: aerospace/transport equipment 3 19 Instrument engineering 2 20 Food, drink and tobacco 18 21 Textiles 1 22 Leather, footwear and clothing 5 23 Timber and furniture 16 24 Paper, printing and publishing 17 25 Other manufacturing 20 26 Construction 97 27 Wholesale and distribution 32 28 Retail distribution 359 29 Hotels and catering 293 30 Repair of consumer goods and vehicles 29 31 Transport 48 32 Telecommunications 30 33 Insurance, banking, etc., business services 147 34 Public administration and defence 138 35 Medical and other health services 43 36 Other services—N.E.S. 105 37 Speculative placings/transfers/inputs 0 Total unfilled vacancies 1,500
§ Mr. ParryTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what measures he intends to use to reduce unemployment in Liverpool.
§ Mr. Nicholls[holding answer 14 November 1988]: Last Friday the High Court ruled that the action by Liverpool city council to prevent unemployed people from taking part in employment training was unlawful. I hope that the council will now abandon its attempts to prevent voluntary bodies and employers in Liverpool from helping unemployed people get back into work.
My Department, through its employment service and Training Agency, operates a wide range of employment, enterprise and training measures. During the 12 months to September 1988 unemployment in Liverpool has fallen by almost 13,000, 13.6 per cent. of the September 1987 figure.