Tuesday 2nd July 2013

(11 years, 5 months ago)

Written Statements
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Michael Moore Portrait The Secretary of State for Scotland (Michael Moore)
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Further to the written answers given to the Member for Glasgow East on 24 June 2013, Official Report, columns 12-13W, I would like to provide further information in response to each of these questions:

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many people in Scotland have been unemployed for two years or more in each month since May 2010. [161099]

Michael Moore: The number of people aged 16 to 64 claiming jobseeker allowance for more than 24 months in Scotland is outlined in the following table:

Date

Claiming Over Two Years (Number)

May 2010

3,385

June 2010

3,630

July 2010

3,825

August 2010

4,125

September 2010

4,325

October 2010

4,485

November 2010

4,510

December 2010

4,600

January 2011

4,810

February 2011

4,840

March 2011

4,785

April 2011

4,810

May 2011

4,920

June 2011

5,060

July 2011

5,270

August 2011

5,525

September 2011

5,755

October 2011

6,190

November 2011

6,570

December 2011

6,955

January 2012

7,405

February 2012

7,900

March 2012

8,370

April 2012

8,940

May 2012

9,470

June 2012

10,280

July 2012

10,940

August 2012

11,600

September 2012

12,315

October 2012

13,020

November 2012

13,745

December 2012

14,685

January 2013

15,470

February 2013

16,420

March 2013

17,315

April 2013

18,065

May 2013

18,515

Source: ONS Crown Copyright Reserved [from Nomis].



Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 17 June 2013, Official Report, column 469W, on unemployment, what the geographical location of the increase in employment from February to April 2013 is; and what proportion of such jobs are (a) full-time and (b) part-time. [161152]

Michael Moore: The latest available ONS employment data, at a sub-Scotland level, covers the period between January 2012 and December 2012. Data on full and part-time work are only available at Scotland-level for the same period. Information for the period that includes February to April 2013 is expected to become available in October 2013.

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 17 June 2013, Official Report, column 469W, on unemployment, what assessment he has made of the total loss to the Scottish economy as a result of under-employment. [161153]

Michael Moore: An ONS report of November found that between 2005 and 2008, the average under-employment rate for Scotland was 7.2% (UK average rate over same period was 6.7%). For the period 2009 to 2012, the average under-employment rate for Scotland was 9.9% (UK average rate over same period was 9.9%). In line with other economic indicators, this increase reflects the effects of the global recession.

However, recent assessments of the economy in Scotland over the last year show that: there are 43,000 more people in employment; unemployment has decreased by 25,000 and 6,800 fewer people are claiming benefit. In addition, since the coalition came into power, over 145,000 more private sector jobs have been created in Scotland. This is welcome news and the Scotland Office will continue to work with partners in Scotland to improve all areas of the labour market.