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Low Pay

Ms Kelly: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people in the constituency of Bolton, West who currently earn less than (a) £2.50, (b) £3, (c) £3.50 and (d) £4 per hour. [4247]

Mrs. Liddell: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Chief Executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

20 Jun 1997 : Column: 340

Letter from Tim Holt to Ms Ruth Kelly, dated 20 June 1997:

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply as the Director of the Office for National Statistics to your recent question on earnings in the Bolton West parliamentary constituency.

The latest available information, from the New Earnings Survey (NES) April 1996, is given in the table below.

Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence, NES April 1996Percentage of employees with hourly earnings (excluding overtime) less than:

	£2.50	£3.00	£3.50	£4.00
Bolton West
Full-time	1.0	2.0	4.0	15.2
Part-time	3.6	3.6	17.9	42.9
All	1.6	2.4	7.1	21.3

Unemployment

Ms Kelly: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many persons aged 18 to 24 years in Bolton, West are currently registered unemployed; [4250]

(2) how many persons in Bolton, West aged 18 to 24 years are currently seeking and available for work;[4248]

(3) how many persons aged 18 to 24 years in Bolton, West who are currently registered unemployed have never been employed. [4249]

Mrs. Liddell: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Chief Executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from Tim Holt to Ms Ruth Kelly, dated 20 June 1997:

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply as the Director of the Office for National Statistics to your recent questions (4250,4248 and 4249) on unemployment of 18 to 24 year olds in Bolton West.

The measure of unemployment, derived from the quarterly Labour Force Survey (LFS), is defined on a consistent and internationally recognised basis set out by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and counts as unemployed people who are: a) without a paid job; b) available to start work within the next two weeks and c) have either looked for work in the last four weeks or are waiting to start a job already obtained. However, largely because it is a sample survey, information is not available from the LFS in as much geographical detail as from the claimant count measure described below.

ONS also publishes the monthly claimant count, which is based on the administrative system and includes all people claiming unemployment-related benefits (i.e. Jobseekers Allowance, Income Support or National Insurance credits) at Employment Service offices on the day of the monthly count, who on that day had signed on as unemployed and available to do any suitable work. Essentially, all people who attend an Employment Service office to sign are counted, irrespective of whether they are actually receiving benefit.

Both measures are described and compared in the ONS booklet How Exactly is Unemployment Measured?, a copy of which is enclosed.

In April 1997, on the unadjusted basis there were 329 18 to 24 years olds unemployed claimants in the Bolton West parliamentary constituency. The group you refer to in your second question "currently seeking and available for work" is broadly the same as the ILO definition of unemployment except that this also includes those who are waiting to start a job they have already obtained.

20 Jun 1997 : Column: 341

However this information is not available at Parliamentary Constituency level. The lowest level at which any LFS data is available is Local Authority District.

No information is available from the claimant count about those who are currently seeking and available for work or those registered unemployed who have never been employed. Information about those ILO unemployed who have never been employed is available from the LFS, but not below county level.

Mr. Fearn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) males and (b) females have been unemployed in Southport for more than (i) six months, (ii) 12 months and (iii) 24 months. [4019]

Mrs. Liddell: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Chief Executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Ronnie Fearn, dated 20 June 1997:

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply as the Director of the Office for National Statistics to your recent question on unemployment in Southport by duration.

The measure of unemployment, derived from the quarterly Labour Force Survey, is defined on a consistent and internationally recognised basis set out by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and counts as unemployed people who are: a) without a paid job; b) available to start work within the next two weeks and c) have either looked for work in the last four weeks or are waiting to start a job already obtained. However, largely because it is a sample survey, information is not available from the LFS in as much geographical detail as from the claimant count measure described below.

ONS also publishes the monthly claimant count, which is based on the administrative system and includes all people claiming unemployment-related benefits (i.e. Jobseekers Allowance, Income Support or National Insurance credits) at Employment Service offices on the day of the monthly count, who on that day had signed on as unemployed and available to do any suitable work. Essentially, all people who attend an Employment Service office to sign are counted, irrespective of whether they are actually receiving benefit.

The information you have requested is only available for claimant unemployment and is given in the attached table.

Unadjusted claimant unemployment by duration in the Southport parliamentary constituency , April 1997(15)

	Males	Females
Duration
Over 6 months	1,019	307
Over 12 months	676	186
Over 24 months	364	90

(15) Unemployment figures by duration are produced quarterly

Mr. Fearn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) male and (b) female 18 to 25-year-olds are currently unemployed in Southport. [4020]

Mrs. Liddell: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Chief Executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

20 Jun 1997 : Column: 342

Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Ronnie Fearn, dated 20 June 1997:

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply as the Director of the Office for National Statistics to your recent question on unemployment in Southport.

The measure of unemployment, derived from the quarterly Labour Force Survey, is defined on a consistent and internationally recognised basis set out by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and counts as unemployed people who are: a) without a paid job; b) available to start work within the next two weeks and c) have either looked for work in the last four weeks or are waiting to start a job already obtained. However, largely because it is a sample survey, information is not available from the LFS in as much geographical detail as from the claimant count measure described below.

ONS also publishes the monthly claimant count, which is based on the administrative system and includes all people claiming unemployment-related benefits (i.e. Jobseekers Allowance, Income Support or National Insurance credits) at Employment Service offices on the day of the monthly count, who on that day had signed on as unemployed and available to do any suitable work. Essentially, all people who attend an Employment Service office to sign are counted, irrespective of whether they are actually receiving benefit.

The information requested can only be derived from the claimant count. In April 1997, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 417 males and 148 females aged 18 to 24 years who were claimant unemployed in Southport.

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the levels and rates of unemployment were in each constituency in (a) April and (b) May. [4144]

Mrs. Liddell [holding answer 17 June 1997]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Chief Executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from Tim Holt to Mrs. Cheryl Gillan, dated 20 June 1997:

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply as the Director of the Office for National Statistics to your recent question on the levels of unemployment in each constituency.

The measure of unemployment, derived from the quarterly Labour Force Survey, is defined on a consistent and internationally recognised basis set out by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and counts as unemployed people who are: (a) without a paid job; (b) available to start work within the next two weeks and (c) have either looked for work in the last four weeks or are waiting to start a job already obtained. However, largely because it is a sample survey, information is not available from the LFS in as much geographical detail as from the claimant count measure described below.

ONS also publishes the monthly claimant count, which is based on the administrative system and includes all people claiming unemployment-related benefits (i.e. Jobseekers Allowance, Income Support or National Insurance credits) at Employment Service offices on the day of the monthly count, who on that day had signed on as unemployed and available to do any suitable work. Essentially, all people who attend an Employment Service office to sign are counted, irrespective of whether they are actually receiving benefit.

Claimant unemployment rates are not available for parliamentary constituencies. The only information for parliamentary constituencies is the unadjusted level of claimant unemployment, which is accessible from the Nomis database in the House of Commons Library.

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