§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what has been the percentage of total unemployment in(a) the area covered by the valleys initiative and (b) Wales during each of the past 24 months for which details are available.
§ Mr. David HuntUnemployment rates for Wales and the valleys area are given in the following table:
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Unemployment rate percentage Wales Programme for the valleys area 1989 April 7.9 11.3 May 7.5 10.8 June 7.1 10.4 July 7.1 10.4 August 7.0 10.2 September 6.9 10.3 October 6.6 9.5 November 6.5 9.2 December 6.7 9.4 1990 January 7.0 9.8 February 6.8 9.6 March 6.7 9.4 April 6.5 9.3 May 6.3 9.1 June 6.1 8.9 July 6.4 9.2 August 6.5 9.2 September 6.6 9.4 October 6.6 9.3 November 6.9 9.5 December 7.4 10.1
Wales Programme for the valleys area 1991 January 7.8 10.7 February 8.1 11.0 March 8.3 11.5 Note:
The rates are calculated by expressing the unadjusted number of unemployed claimants as a percentage of the estimated total work force (the sum of unemployed claimants, employees in employment, self-employed, HM forces and participants on work-related Government training programmes). Mid-year estimates of the relevant total work force are used in calculating the unemployment rates. The Welsh figures for 1989 use 1989 mid-year estimates of the total work force in Wales; the Welsh figures for 1990 and the first three months of 1991 use mid-1990 estimates of the total work force. Unemployment rates calculated for the programme for the valleys area use mid-1989 estimates of the total work force in the area throughout.