§ Mr. OppenheimTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people in Derbyshire were employed in 1979; and how many were employed in the latest year for which figures are available.
§ Mr. NichollsThe available information on a comparable basis for Derbyshire is from censuses of employment taken in September 1981 and September 1987. There were 334,900 employees in employment in September 1981 and 342,500 in September 1987. These figures exclude the self-employed and members of Her Majesty's forces.
§ Mr. DevlinTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the recent fall in unemployment in the northern region.
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§ Mr. NichollsThe following information is available in the Library. In the 12 months to October 1989 the level of unemployment, seasonally adjusted, in the north fell by 35,000, or 21 per cent. Unemployment in the north is now at its lowest level for nearly nine years, as it is in the country as a whole.