Unemployment Benefit (Portsmouth) (Hansard, 25 June 1997)

§ Mrs. Liddell

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.

Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Michael Hancock, dated 25 June 1997: The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply as the Director of the Office for National Statistics to your recent question on the numbers of 17 to 25 year olds claiming unemployment benefit in Portsmouth in June of (a) 1974, (b) 1979, (c) 1988, (d) 1992, (e) 1993, (f) 1994, (g) 1995 and (h) 1996; and what percentage of the total number of those in this age group these figures represent. The data you have requested can only be derived from the monthly count of people claiming unemployment-related benefits (i.e. Unemployment Benefit and Income Support which were replaced by Jobseeker's Allowance in October 1996, or National Insurance credits). Essentially, all people who attend an Employment Service office to sign on the designated day are counted. These figures by broad age group for Local Authority Districts have been available quarterly since 1983. The corresponding figures by age are only available quarterly and not seasonally adjusted, and are based on particular age bands. The data given in the attached table, relating to claimants aged 17 to 24 inclusive in July each year, correspond as closely as possible to your request.

532W

Portsmouth authority district
	Claimant unemployed aged 17–24	Resident population aged 17–24¹	Claimant unemployed aged 17–24 as a percentage of population
July 1988	2,300	31,400	7.3
July 1992	3,200	28,300	11.2
July 1993	3,300	26,400	12.6
July 1994	2,700	25,600	10.7
July 1995	2,500	25,600	9.9
July 1996	2,300	n/a	²8.9
¹Mid-year estimates.
²Provisional (based on mid-1995 population estimates).