asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many unskilled male labourers were unemployed for every unskilled labouring vacancy for each year since 1945.

Detailed occupational analyses of the numbers unemployed and of the numbers of notified unfilled vacancies for years up to 1968 are published at tables 174 and 181 of British Labour Statistics Historical Abstract 1886–1968. Figures for later years are published in the Department of Employment Gazette. For example, those for March 1975 are in the May 1975 issue. An important qualification that should be borne in mind when comparing the figures for labouring occupations is that unemployed persons classified as labourers may also be suitable for a wide range of other vacancies generally for unskilled manual occupations.