§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department made of the average duration of unemployment for a person unemployed and claiming benefit in each of the last four years. [75668]
§ Ms Hewitt[holding answer 9 March 1999]The 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. Graham Brady, dated 11 March 1999:
As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question on the average duration of unemployment.
Monthly estimates of median durations of uncompleted spells of claimant unemployment can be accessed by the House of Commons Library. The data are not readily available in precise annual form, but these monthly figures for each year average out as follows:
Estimated median duration of uncompleted spells of claimant unemployment, United Kingdom Weeks 1995 33 1996 33 1997 27 1998 22 These figures relate to computerized claims only i.e. they exclude a small proportion of claimants whose benefit claims are processed clerically.