Youth Unemployment

Ms Quin
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what were the youth unemployment rates in actual numbers and percentages for each United Kingdom standard planning region and for each of the past five years.

Mr. McLoughlin
[holding answer 17 May 1993]: Information on the level of claimant unemployment by age in each region is available from the NOMIS database in the Library.Information on claimant unemployment by age, expressed as a percentage of the work force in a particular age band, are available on a quarterly basis but only at national level, and only for standard age bands. These data are published in the

Employment Gazette—table 2.15.

Labour force survey data on regional unemployment rates by age and sex, using the ILO measure of unemployment, are published regularly in table 7.15 of "Regional Trends".

Ms Quin
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will supply figures for the youth unemployment rates, by actual numbers and by percentages, in each EC country for the five most recent years for which figures are available.

Mr. Michael Forsyth
[holding answer 17 May 1993]: The extent of the readily available, comparable information is given in the following tables:

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|              |
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|Belgium       |
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|Denmark       |
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|Germany       |
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|Greece        |
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|Spain         |
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|France        |
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|Ireland       |
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|Italy         |
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|Luxembourg    |
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|Netherlands   |
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|Portugal      |
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|United Kingdom|
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|Belgium       |
----------------
|Denmark       |
----------------
|Germany       |
----------------
|Greece        |
----------------
|Spain         |
----------------
|France        |
----------------
|Ireland       |
----------------
|Italy         |
----------------
|Luxembourg    |
----------------
|Netherlands   |
----------------
|Portugal      |
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|United Kingdom|
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Source: EUROSTAT Labour Force Survey 1983–1991.

Note: These statistics are compiled from each country's Labour Force Survey and relate to "14–24 year olds" at the time of the survey. The ILO definition of unemployment used in the Labour Force Survey relates to people who are; (a) without a paid job; (b) available to start work in the next fortnight; and (c) have looked for work in the last four weeks or are waiting to start a job already obtained.