§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the performance of Employer Direct in finding work for unemployed people. [34661]
§ Mr. Nicholas BrownEmployer Direct is a new service that enables employers to notify job vacancies to the Department using a unique telephone number. It provides a more efficient and effective service, available for longer hours than previously when employers notified vacancies through their local jobcentres.
Employer Direct is still under development. However, evidence from an earlier pilot suggests that it does attract more vacancies and that the information collected about those vacancies is more comprehensive and clear, thus presenting unemployed people with a wider and better choice of job vacancies. The Department began to collect statistics about the number of calls to Employer Direct in March 2001. Since then, over 875,000 calls have been received by this telephone helpline (figures correct to the end of December 2001).