§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many long-term young unemployed there were in Hendon in(a) May 1997 and (b) now. [136952]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Andrew Dismore, dated 8 November 2000:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question on the number of long-term young unemployed in Hendon in May 1997 and now. (136952)273WThe Labour Force Survey (LFS) is the main source of labour market data on individuals used by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The ONS preferred measure of unemployment is derived from the LFS and is defined on a consistent and internationally recognised basis set out by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). It 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. However, estimates for the number of ILO long-term young unemployed in the constituency of Hendon cannot be used as they are below the threshold for reliable data.ONS also publishes the monthly number of people who are claiming unemployment-related benefits, also known as the Claimant count.In May 1997 there were 160 18-24 year olds on the claimant count (computerised claims only). This fell to 9 by May 2000 and to 14 in September 2000. Constituency level claimant count figures are not seasonally adjusted so comparisons are best made year to year. Computerised claims do not include clerical claims which currently makes up around I per cent of the total claimant count.