§ Mrs. FitzsimonsTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the level of unemployment was in each year since 1997 in the parliamentary constituency of Rochdale, broken down by(a) age, (b) gender and (c) ethnicity; [178550]
(2) if he will make a statement on the levels of long-term (a) adult and (b) youth employment in the parliamentary constituency of Rochdale over the last seven years; and what percentage of long-term (i) adult and (ii) youth employed are (A) women and (B) of Asian origin; [178540]
(3) if he will make a statement on the levels of long-term (a) adult and (b) youth employment of people of ethnic minorities in the parliamentary constituency of Rochdale over the last seven years. [178541]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, and I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Ms Lorna Fitzsimons, dated 21 June 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about unemployment in the Parliamentary Constituency of Rochdale. (178550, 178540 and 178541).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) following International Labour Organisation definitions.
Table 1 overleaf gives the available information for levels of unemployment by gender in the Rochdale Parliamentary Constituency covering the 12 months ending February of 1997 and of each year from 2000 to 2003.
Estimates are taken from the Office for National Statistics' Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any statistical sample survey, estimates for the LFS are subject to sampling variability.
ONS also compiles statistics of those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (ISA) for local areas including Parliamentary Constituencies. Table 2 overleaf gives the annual average number of ISA claimants, and the average number claiming for over 12 months by gender and age group in the Rochdale Constituency for each year since 1997 to 2003.
1201W
Table 1: Unemployment levels in the Rochdale parliamentary constituency, 12 months ending February of the years 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003 (not seasonally adjusted) thousands Total Male Female 1997 1— 1— 1— 2000 1— 1— 1— 2001 3 2 1— 2002 3 2 1— 2003 4 2 1— 1Estimates not shown owing to the small sample size. Source: ONS Labour Force Survey
Table 2: Annual average number of JSA claimants, and those claiming for over 12 months, by gender and age group Rochdale parliamentary constituency, 1997–2003 Male All ages 18 to 24 years 25 to 49 years 50 plus years All claimants 1997 2,448 678 1,451 294 1998 2,297 651 1,344 281 1999 2,128 560 1,278 268 2000 1,782 491 1,052 217 2001 1,598 445 963 177 2002 1,672 451 1,006 198 2003 1,685 483 960 215 People claiming for over 12 months (computerised claims only) 1997 669 107 462 100 1998 571 82 391 99 1999 474 23 343 108 2000 338 7 263 69 2001 237 1— 185 49 2002 218 1— 164 51 2003 223 1— 156 65
Female All ages 18 to 24 years 25 to 49 years 50 plus years All claimants 1997 597 288 216 77 1998 583 267 225 75 1999 536 230 221 69 2000 464 207 191 53 2001 409 179 165 47 2002 442 195 183 52 2003 470 207 186 57 People claiming for over 12 months (computerised claims only) 1997 103 37 42 23 1998 90 36 38 17 1999 67 8 41 19 2000 51 1— 34 15 2001 35 1— 24 10 2002 25 1— 15 8 2003 33 1— 21 11
1202W
All All ages 18 to 24 years 25 to 49 years 50 plus years All claimants 1997 3,045 966 1,667 371 1998 2,880 918 1,568 355 1999 2,663 789 1,498 337 2000 2,246 697 1,244 270
All All ages 18 to 24 years 25 to 49 years 50 plus years 2001 2,007 625 1,128 224 2002 2,114 646 1,189 250 2003 2,155 690 1,146 272 People claiming for over 12 months (computerised claims only) 1997 772 145 504 123 1998 661 117 428 115 1999 541 30 384 127 2000 389 9 296 84 2001 272 5 209 58 2002 242 1— 179 59 2003 256 1— 177 75 1These figures are not shown to protect the confidentiality of individuals. Source: Jobcentre Plus administrative system.