§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the change in the level of unemployment in the Chorley constituency has been since 1997. [148494]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Lindsay Hoyle dated 19 January 2004:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about unemployment in the Chorley constituency. I am replying in his absence. (148494)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) following the internationally standard International Labour Organisation definitions. For Parliamentary constituencies, information about unemployment rates, but not levels, is available. However, the LFS sample size is too small to give reliable estimates of unemployment in the Chorley constituency.
1029WONS also compiles statistics of those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) for local areas including Parliamentary constituencies. The annual average number of JSA claimants in the Chorley constituency decreased by 764 from 1,679 in 1997 to 915 in 2003.
§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on levels of unemployment in Chorley; and what the numbers were in(a) 1990, (b) 1995, (c) 2000 and (d) 2003. [149166]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr Lindsay Hoyle, dated 19 January 2004:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about unemployment in the Chorley constituency. I am replying in his absence. (149166)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) following the internationally standard International Labour Organisation definitions. For Parliamentary constituencies, information about unemployment rates, but not levels, is available for the twelve month period ending February of each year from 1997 to 2002. However, the LFS sample size is too small to give reliable estimates of unemployment in the Chorley constituency.
ONS also compiles statistics of those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) for local areas including Parliamentary constituencies. The table below shows the annual average claimant level in the Chorley constituency for the requested periods. Because of boundary changes the figures for 1990 and 1995 are not directly comparable with the later data.
People claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in the Chorley constituency Year Level Annual average 1990 12,159 Annual average 1995 12,605 Annual average 2000 1,217 Annual average 2003 915 1 Figures based on the 1981 census wards.