§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the total number of unemployed people in Wales on the basis of(a) those who claim benefits and (b) those recorded in the labour force survey as desiring to work, at the latest available date in each case; and if he will indicate what factors underlie any differences between the two figures. [12024]
§ Mr. HagueOn 12 December 1996, there were 93,084 persons on the claimant unemployment count in Wales. The latest figure from the labour force survey is for autumn—September to November—1996, when an estimated 109,000 people in Wales were classified as International Labour Organisation unemployed. The above figures are not seasonally adjusted.
The first figure is from a monthly count of those claiming unemployment-related benefits. It is an administrative measure and records the number of claimants on one particular day each month. In contrast, the labour force survey measure is based on a sample survey of around 3,000 households in Wales each quarter. It uses the internationally standard ILO definition of unemployment. This classifies as unemployed those who were without a job at the time the survey was conducted and were available to start work in the next fortnight and had either actively looked for work in the last four weeks or had found a job and were waiting to start.
The ILO unemployed are not asked if they would like to have a job because, in order to be classified as unemployed, they will need already to have stated that they have looked, and are available, for work. Respondents are questioned only on whether they would like a job if they are economically inactive and have not looked for a job in the last four weeks. These people are not ILO unemployed.
The Office for National Statistics has published a booklet "How exactly is unemployment measured" which describes the claimant count and labour force survey measures of unemployment in more detail. Copies are available in the Library of the House.