§ 23. Mr. SpringTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the trends are in long-term unemployment in Northern Ireland. [12429]
§ Mr. IngramThe latest available information relates to September 1997 and at that time there were 29,509 claimant long-term unemployed in Northern Ireland. This represents a reduction of 15,821 compared with a year earlier and reflects a generally downward trend in claimant long-term unemployment since spring 1993.