asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were unemployed in the Portsmouth travel-to-work area in 1979 and in 1985; how many unemployed people in 1979 and 1985 were aged under 25 years; and how many of those unemployed in 1979 and 1985 were women.
The following is in the Library. Direct comparisons with 1979 are not possible.The following table shows the figures requested for the old Portsmouth travel-to-work area in respect of registrants for April 1979 and claimants for April 1985, the latest date for which an analysis of unemployment by age is available. Figures are also on both bases for October 1982, when the basis of the unemployment count was changed. Comparisons are also affected by the provisions of the 1983 Budget which mean that certain men aged 60 and over no longer need to sign on at an unemployment benefit office.
| Unemployment—old Portsmouth travel-to-work area | |||
| Registrants | Total | Under 25 years | Female |
| April 1979 | 10,272 | 3,413 | 2,891 |
| October 1982 | 25,551 | 10,979 | 7,688 |
| Claimants | |||
| October 1982 | 24,138 | 10,431 | 7,250 |
| April 1985 | 26,411 | 10,387 | 8,610 |
asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people at present registered as unemployed have never had a job.
The following information is in the Library. On 9 May 1985 there were 315,669 unemployed claimants in the United Kingdom who had never had a job since leaving school, of which 107,704 were aged under 18 years.
asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people at present registered as unemployed have only had a youth training scheme or community programme as their only means of employment.
Such an analysis of the unemployment count is not available.