§ Mr. ChisholmTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many(a) 16 and 17-year-olds in Scotland and (b) 18 to 24-year-olds in Scotland are unemployed according to the ILO definition. [68771]
§ Ms HewittThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Malcolm Chisholm, dated 9 February 1999:
As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question on young people who are unemployed in Scotland.
The ONS measure of unemployment, derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), is defined on a consistent and internationally recognised basis set out by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and counts as unemployed people who are: a) without a paid job; b) available to start work within the next two weeks and c) have either looked for work in the last four weeks or are waiting to start a job already obtained.
The Autumn 1998 (September-November) quarterly Labour Force Survey estimates that the number of ILO unemployed in Scotland aged (a) 16–17 year olds is 22,000 and (b) 18–14 year olds is 48,000. These estimates are not seasonally adjusted.