Mr. Alan WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many years it would take for Welsh unemployment to return to the 1979 level at the rate of change of the last three years. [14733]
§ Mr. Redwood]Seasonally adjusted claimant unemployment fell from 123,500 in February 1992 to 107,600 in February 1995, an average fall of 442 claimants a month. It is difficult to say when unemployment would reach the same percentage as 1979 as that depends on whether more women wish to join the workforce or not. There has been a big expansion in numbers joining the workforce in the last 15 years. Over the past year unemployment has been falling at the faster average rate of 1,567 claimants a month.