§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give(a) the total numbers of long-term unemployed and (b) the long-term unemployed as a percentage of the total unemployed in June of each year from 1979 to 1989, inclusive.
§ Mr. LeeUnemployment is analysed by duration quarterly. Direct comparisons of unemployment by duration since 1979 are not possible because of the changes from a count of registrants at jobcentres to a count based on unemployed claimants in 1983 and other changes in coverage of the count. Following is the available information, which is also in the Library. The table shows the number of unemployed in the United Kingdom who had been unemployed over 12 months and these as a percentage of the total for each April from 1979 to 1989.
75W
Long-term Unemployment in the United Kingdom1 April 1979–1989 April Unemployed over 12 months Percentage of total 1979 366,711 27.4 1980 354,101 23.3 1981 515,913 20.4 1982 994,395 33.1 1983 1,143,436 36.1 1984 1,218,162 39.2 1985 1,334,181 40.8 1986 1,356,521 40.8 1987 1,295,146 41.7
April Unemployed over 12 months Percentage of total 1988 1,029,206 40.6 1989 744,120 39.5 1 Figures for 1979–82 are for unemployed registrants at Jobcentres; those for 1983–89 relate to claimants unemployed.