HC Deb 04 May 2004 vol 420 cc1477-9W
Mr. Neil Turner

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many job vacancies there were in Wigan in(a) 1997 and (b) 2003. [169354]

Ruth Kelly

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Neil Turner, dated 4 May 2004:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about job vacancies in Wigan. I am replying in his absence. (169354)

According to Jobcentre Plus administrative records the number of unfilled vacancies in the Wigan travel-to-work area was 1,843 on average during 1997. This represents only a proportion of all the vacancies available, as not all vacancies are notified to Jobcentres.

Jobcentre vacancy statistics were withdrawn from National Statistics in September 2001 as a result of distortions to the data, which occurred following the introduction of new administrative procedures by Jobcentre Plus. Comparable figures for vacancies in 2003 are therefore unavailable.

Results from the ONS Vacancy Survey were released as National Statistics from July 2003, but are not available for local areas.

Mr. Neil Turner

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the level of unemployment was in each year since 1997 in Wigan; [169358]

(2) what the levels of long-term (a) adult and (b) youth employment in Wigan were in each of the last seven years. [169309]

Ruth Kelly

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Neil Turner, dated 4 May 2004:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about unemployment. (169358, 169309)

The 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 Wigan Parliamentary Constituency.

ONS also compiles statistics of those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) for local areas including parliamentary constituencies.

The attached table gives the annual average number of people claiming JSA for over 12 months, and the annual average number of these claimants aged 18 to 24 years, in the Wigan constituency, for each year since 1997. The table also shows the annual average total number of JSA claimants in the constituency for these years.

Annual average number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance

(JSA), and number claiming for at least 12 months

Claimants for at least twelve months1
Wigan parliamentary constituency, 1997–2003 All claimants All ages Aged 18–24
1997 2,516 871 137
1998 2,029 339 46
1999 1,825 317 10
2000 1,629 252 2
2001 1,444 232 2
2002 1,325 191 8
2003 1,331 189 10
1 Computerised claims only.
2 Value between 1 and 5, not shown to prevent disclosure.
Source:
Office for National Statistics.

Mr. Neil Turner

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what(a) change and (b) percentage change there has been in full-time permanent jobs in Wigan from 1997 to 31 December 2003; [169359]

(2) how many new jobs have been created in Wigan since 1997. [169360]

Ruth Kelly

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Neil Turner, dated 4 May 2004:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about full-time jobs and jobs created in Wigan. I am replying in his absence. (169359, 169360)

While statistics of new jobs created are not available explicitly, statistics from surveys enable comparisons to be made of net changes, in numbers of jobs, from year to year.

The following table shows the information requested relating to all jobs and full-time jobs in Wigan for 1997 and 2002, which is the latest year available.

Information is not available about whether the jobs were permanent.

Number of full-time employees and total number of employees1 in Wigan parliamentary constituency: 1997 and 2002
Number, per cent
Full-Time Total
Number of employees
1997 24,000 35,000
2002 24,200 36,400
Change from 1997 to 2002
Absolute 200 1,400
Percentage 0.9 4.0
1 Employee jobs only, not self-employed jobs.
Source:
1997; Annual Employment Survey, resealed 2002; Annual Business Inquiry (ABI).