§ Ms ChurchTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people(a) in total and (b) in the age bands (i) 16 to 24 years, (ii) 25 to 34 years, (iii) 35 to 44 years, (iv) 45 to 54 years, (v) 55 to 64 years and (vi) 65 years and over, have experienced (1) two, (2) three, (3) four and (4) five spells of unemployment, since 1992 in the United Kingdom; and if he will give the figures as a percentage of the economically active work force in the relevant age band. [1913]
§ Mrs. Angela Knight[holding answer 7 November 1996]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the chief executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
309WLetter from Tim Holt to Ms. Judith Church dated 14 November 1996;
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply as the Director of the Office for National Statistics to your recent question on how many people have experienced two, three, four and five spells of unemployment, since 1992 in the United Kingdom, by age.The available data are shown in the following table. Data are only available for Great Britain.
Number of people in Great Britain who have experienced at least one spell of claimant unemployment since January 1992, by number of spells experienced Number of spells of unemployment Age band (years) One Two Three Four Five or more Total 16-24 1,680.7 960.6 555.0 302.7 314.0 3,813.0 25-34 1,320.7 62.8 317.8 156.8 165.6 2,588.8 35-44 927.5 403.8 190.3 86.3 92.7 1,700.6 45-54 872.3 332.8 138.1 62.6 66.8 1,472.6 55-64 541.8 124.8 38.9 15.2 14.5 735.1 65 and over 0.4 0 0 0 0 0.4 All ages 5,343.7 2,449.9 1,240.1 623.6 653.7 10,310.9 Great Britain.It is not possible to calculate proportions as a percentage of the economically active workforce because the corresponding number of people who have never been economically active over the period is not known—only point in time estimates of the latter are available.