§ Mr. BlizzardTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of the factors underlying recent trends in the level of unemployment in Lowestoft. [56760]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithThere are no ILO unemployment series for travel to work areas; so only claimant unemployment statistics can be presented.
In the Lowestoft and Beccles travel-to-work area, between September 1997 and September 1998 the claimant unemployment rate fell by 1.3 percentage points to 7.3 per cent; and the claimant count fell by 16 per cent. to around 3,180. The corresponding UK seasonally unadjusted figures were a fall of 0.6 percentage points in the claimant unemployment rate to 4.7 per cent. and a 12 per cent. reduction in the claimant count to around 1,334,275.
Because the data are seasonally unadjusted, it is not possible to assess the underlying trend month by month. However, over the last year unemployment in the Lowestoft and Beccles travel-to-work area continued to fall, reflecting steady growth in the economy and employment.