asked the Paymaster General what was the average wage of (a) 16 to 17-year-old women and men, (b) 18 to 20-year-old women and men and (c) over 21-year-old women and men in 1979, 1984 and 1986; what was the unemployment figure for each group in 1979, 1984 and 1986; and what was the percentage rise over the periods.

The information from the "New Earnings Survey" in April each year is as follows:

Average gross weekly earnings (£) of full-time employees in Great Britain whose pay was unaffected by absence
Percentage Increase
Age	1979	1984	1986	1979–84	1984–86
Males
Under 18	40·3	63·3	72·7	57·1	14·8
18 to 20	61·9	101·0	113·5	63·2	12·4
21 and over	101·4	181·6	210·7	79·1	16·0
Females
Under 18	36·6	58·6	72·1	60·1	23·0
18 to 20	48·7	82·3	93·3	64·0	13·4
21 and over	65·3	121·2	141·8	85·6	17·0

Following is the available information about unemployment which is also in the Library. The table shows the numbers of unemployed registrants in the under 18, 18 to 19 and over 20 years age groups in Great Britain on 5 April 1979.The table also shows the numbers of unemployed claimants in the same age groups in Great Britain on 5 April 1984 and 10 April 1986. However, direct comparison of the figures between these dates is not possible because of changes in the method of collection and compilation of the data.

Unemployed Registrants in Great Britain—5 April 1979
	Number
Age under 18 years	73,257
Age 18 to 19 years	117,467
Age over 20 years	1,089,084

Unemployed Registrants in Great Britain
	5 April 1984	10 April 1986
Age under 18 years	155,580	181,336
Age 18 to 19 years	353,654	301,820
Age over 20 years	2,478,392	2,715,713