§ Mr. HepburnTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the change in the level of unemployment has been in the Jarrow constituency in each year since 1997; [159508]
(2) what the level of youth unemployment was in (a) the Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) Tyne and Wear and (d) the UK in each year since 1997. [159524]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Stephen Hepburn, dated 11 March 2004:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about unemployment in the Jarrow constituency. I am replying in his absence. (159508, 159524)1644WThe Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) following International Labour Organisation definitions. However, the LFS sample size is too small to give reliable estimates of unemployment in the Jarrow Parliamentary Constituency.The ONS also publishes data on the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (ISA). Table 1 gives information on the change in the number of JSA claimants in the Jarrow Constituency for each year since 1997. Table 2 gives information, also for each year since 1997, on the number of the JSA claimants aged between 18 and 24 years in the Jarrow Constituency, the South Tyneside Unitary Authority, the Metropolitan County of Tyne and Wear and in the UK as a whole.
Table 1: Total number of claimants1 of Jobseekers Allowance in Jarrow parliamentary constituency: 1997–2003
Claimants Number of claimants Difference from previous year 1997 3,119 — 1998 2,766 -353 1999 2,820 54 2000 2,625 -195 2001 2,377 -248 2002 2,273 -104 2003 1,986 -287 1Annual average. Source: Jobcentre plus administrative system.
Table 2: Number of claimants1 of Jobseekers Allowance aged 18–24 in the areas shown: 1997–2003
Claimants Jarrow Parliamentary
Constituency
South Tyneside
Unitary
Authority
Metropolitan County of
Tyne and
Wear
United Kingdom
1997 802 1,800 11,563 406,417 1998 665 1,500 9,780 339,001 1999 654 1,458 8,903 294,124 2000 583 1,300 8,223 261,472 2001 557 1,234 7,637 241,222 2002 523 1,169 7,466 242,930 2003 512 1,158 7,267 249,054 1Annual average. Source: Jobcentre plus administrative system.