§ Mr. O'HaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many adult males were placed in full-time employment in the month covered by the most recently published statistics on unemployment.
§ Mr. OppenheimPast surveys indicate that the majority of people who leave unemployment go into jobs.
§ Mr. GallieTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current figures for unemployment(a) in the United Kingdom and (b) in other European Union countries and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. PortilloThe United Kingdom unemployment rate is lower than that for all EU countries except Portugal and Luxembourg. Details are provided in the following table:
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Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates in EU countries Latest Month Belgium 10.1 (September) Denmark 9.8 (September) Germany1 — Greece2 — Spain 21.9 (September) France 11.3 (September) Ireland 17.5 (September) Italy 11.9 (September)
Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates in EU countries Latest Month Luxembourg 3.4 (September) Netherlands 9.9 (August) Portugal 6.0 (September) United Kingdom 9.0 (September) EC Average 10.7 (September) Notes: 1 No ILO rate available for unified Germany. 2 Only 1991 annual average figures available for Greece. Source:
Statistical Office of the European Community Unemployment Bulletin.
§ Mr. McCartneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were employed regionally and nationally for each year since 1979 for less than eight hours per week; and to what extent they are counted by his Department as being in work.
§ Mr. OppenheimThis information could be provided from the labour force survey only at a disproportionate cost. Data from 1984 onwards may be obtained via the Quantime LFS service available in the Library.
The definition of employment used by the LFS follows the guidelines of the International Labour Organisation. This counts as "in employment" everyone who did at least one hour of paid work in the reference week.
§ Mr. McCartneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what were the median and modal age by gender, both regionally and nationally, of those workers with two or more part-time jobs aged(a) 21 to 24 years, (b) 25 to 34 years, (c) 35 to 54 years and (d) 55 years and over in each year since 1979;
(2) what were the regional and national numbers of jobless two-adult households who have been without work for (a) six months, (b) one year and (c) two years and over in each year since 1979 to date;
(3) if he will list the numbers of unemployed, both regionally and nationally, for white collar occupations, in each year since 1979.
§ Mr. OppenheimThis information could be provided from the labour force survey only at a disproportionate cost. Data from 1984 onwards may be obtained via the Quantime LFS service available in the Library.
§ Mr. Harry GreenwayTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people in the United kingdom are in work, as a percentage of the total population of working age; and what are the comparable figures for the other G7 countries.
§ Mr. OppenheimThe information is given in the following table:
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Total employment as a percentage of the population aged 15 to 64 in the G7 nations; 19921 Per cent. United Kingdom 68 Germany 66 France 60 Italy2 56 USA 71 Canada 64 Japan 74 Source: OECD, except United Kingdom—Employment Department. 1 1992 is the latest year for which comparable data are available. 2 Aged 14 to 64 years.
§ Mr. HallTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of part-time jobs are taken by women with an earning partner.
§ Mr. OppenheimLatest estimates from the spring 1994 labour force survey for Great Britain show that 58 per cent. of the people whose main job was part-time were women with a partner in employment.
§ Sir Michael NeubertTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people in the United Kingdom are in work, as a proportion of the total population of working age; and what are the figures in other major EU countries.
§ Mr. OppenheimThe information is given in the following table:
Total Employment as a Percentage of the Population aged 15 to 64 in the major EU Countries: 19921 Per cent. United Kingdom 68 Germany 66 France 60 Italy2 56 Source: OECD, except United Kingdom—Employment Department. 1 1992 is the latest year for which comparable data are available. 2Aged 14 to 16 years.
§ Mr. MacShaneTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what was(a) the number of adult male part-time workers in Great Britain in April 1993 and (b) the proportion of those workers whose earnings, excluding overtime, fell below (i) £5.88 per hour, (ii) £5.53 per hour, (iii) £4.15 per hour, (iv) £4 per hour, (v) £3.50 per hour, (vi) £3 per hour and (vii) £2.50 per hour;
(2) if he will list the proportions of manual, non-manual and all full-time (a) male and (b) female employees earning less per week than (i) £221.50, (ii) £208.53, (iii) £156.40, (iv) £150.80, (v) £131.95 and (vi) £94.25 excluding overtime payments (1) by standard economic region, (2) for Great Britain as a whole and (3) for Northern Ireland;
(3) what was (a) the number of adult female part-time workers in Great Britain in April 1993 and (b) the proportion of those workers whose earnings, excluding overtime, fell below (i) £5.88 per hour, (ii) £5.53 per hour, (iii) £4.15 per hour, (iv) £4 per hour, (v) £3.50 per hour, (vi) £3 per hour and (vii) £2.50 per hour;
(4) if he will list the proportion of (i) full-time employees earning less per week than (a) £221.50, (b) £208.53, (c) £156.40, (d) £150.80, (e) £131.95, (f) £113.10 and (g) £94.25 excluding overtime payments and (ii) part-time employees earning less per hour than (1) £5.88 per hour, (2) £5.53 per hour, (3) £4.15 per hour, (4) £4 per hour, (5) £3.50 per hour, (6) £3 per hour and (7) £2.50 excluding overtime payments, indicating (i) and (ii) in relation to (I) Great Britain as a whole, (II) each county in England, (III) each county in Wales, (IV) each London borough and Greater London as a whole and (V) each regional authority and borough in Scotland.
§ Mr. OppenheimAs the information is contained in a number of tables, I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy in the Library.
§ Mr. ByersTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many workers are on(a) part-time contracts and (b) short-term full-time contracts; and, for 636W each category, how many are (i) female and (ii) male; and if he will further break down the figures by standard region.
§ Mr. OppenheimInformation is available from the labour force survey on the numbers of part-time and full-time employees who report that they are working under a contract for a fixed period or for a fixed task.
The information for spring 1994 is shown in the following table.
Part-time and full-time employees on fixed-term contracts Thousands Part-time not seasonally adjusted Full-time Males Females Males Females South East 18 78 93 65 -Greater London 1— 29 36 30 -rest of SE 11 49 57 36 East Anglia 1— 1— 11 1— South West 1— 15 16 15 West Midlands 1— 18 19 13 East Midlands 1— 18 14 11 Yorkshire and Humberside 1— 14 31 19 North West 1— 23 27 22 North 1— 12 23 10 Wales 1— 1— 11 1— Scotland 1— 17 34 20 Northern Ireland 1— 1— 1— 1— Great Britain 53 211 280 189 United Kingdom 54 214 284 192 1 Under 10,000 and so not shown
§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if children under 15 currently working in factories and businesses are included in his Department's statistics as employed persons.
§ Mr. OppenheimThe labour force survey measure of employment only includes persons of age 16 years and over. Employment estimates derived from the employer-based survey make no reference to the age of the employee.
§ Mrs. PeacockTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment to what he attributes the current changes in unemployment figures; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Oppenheim[holding answer 28 November 1994]: Unemployment has fallen faster in the United Kingdom over the past year than in any other EU country, and has fallen by over 450,000 since recovery in the labour market began. On internationally comparable figures, released last week by the Statistical Office of the European Communities, the unemployment rate in the United Kingdom is nearly two percentage points below the EU average. I attribute this to the pursuit of sound macro-economic policies promoting strong economic growth with low inflation, active measures to help people back to work and the avoidance or removal of unnecessary regulations that obstruct enterprise, competition, and job creation.