§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when, and for what reason, he suspended the publication of job vacancy statistics; and when he expects to resume publication of such statistics. [12656]
§ Ruth Kelly[holding answer 5 November 2001]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Jim Cousins, dated 9 November 2001:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question relating to the publication of job vacancy statistics. (12656)The Office for National Statistics (ONS) issued a press release at 9.30am on 11 September 2001 announcing the deferral of Jobcentre vacancy statistics from 12 September 2001. This was due to discontinuities which arose from changes in the Employment Services's methods for recording job vacancies.'Employer Direct' is being gradually introduced across Great Britain to modernise and enhance the way the Employment Service deals with vacancies to provide a more flexible and convenient service for employers. It involves transferring the vacancy taking 491W process from local Jobcentres to regional customer service centres. Research by the Employment Service shows that it has the following effects on the Jobcentre vacancy data from May 2001A temporary reduction in the recorded level of outflows and placings owing to some delays in following up vacancies with employers associated with the introduction of the new arrangements.An increase in the recorded level of newly notified vacancies.Both the above effects lead to an increase in the recorded stock of unfilled vacancies.ONS and the Employment Service are continuing to monitor and review the data with the aim of resuming publication as soon as it is possible to produce consistent statistics.
§ Mr. MilibandTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many job vacancies there are in(a) South Shields, (b) Tyne and Wear and (c) the north- how many there were 12 months ago; and what is the national vacancy rate per 1,000 of population. [13263]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. David Miliband, dated 9 November 2001:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question asking for the number of job vacancies in South Shields, Tyne and Wear and the North East 12 months ago; and the national vacancy rate per 1,000 of population. (13263)Statistics on Jobcentre vacancies are available up to April 2001. Later statistics have been deferred due to discontinuities which arose from changes in the Employment Service's methods for recording job vacancies.The table below shows the number of unfilled Jobcentre vacancies (not seasonally adjusted) for April 2000 and April 2001 in the South Shields and Tyne and Wear Jobcentre areas, the North East region and Great Britain.Jobcentre vacancies represent only a proportion of all vacancies in the economy just those vacancies notified to the Employment Service. The proportion is likely to vary over time, across geographical areas and between different skills and occupations. Expression of such figures as a rate per 1000 population is therefore not appropriate.
Unfilled Jobcentre vacancies Jobcentres April 2000 April 2001 South Shields 618 1,032 Tyne and Wear 8,153 11,662 North East Region 17,654 23,586 Great Britain 332,511 362,504