Unemployed: Young People
Work and Pensions
Written answers and statements, 5 November 2009
Danny Alexander (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey, Liberal Democrat)
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many young people between the ages of 18 and 24 years were unemployed in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) the Highlands in each of the last 24 months.
Angela Smith (Minister of State (Third Sector), Cabinet Office; Basildon, Labour)
I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Jil Matheson, dated October 2009:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many young people aged between the ages of 18 and 24 years were unemployed in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) the Highlands in each of the last 24 months. (297390)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles unemployment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey and its predecessor the annual Labour Force Survey (LFS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.
Table 1 shows the number of persons aged between 18 and 24 years resident in the UK and Scotland who were unemployed for the 12 month periods ending June 2007 to the latest available period ending March 2009.
Estimates of unemployment for the requested age band are not available for the Highland local authority due to small sample sizes. As an alternative, in Table 2, we have provided the number of persons, aged between 18 and 24, claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) in the Highland local authority along with UK and Scotland, from the Jobcentre Plus administrative system. For comparison purposes, the data have been provided from January 2007 to the latest available period of September 2009.
The unemployment estimate given for the UK has been compiled from the APS to be consistent with the estimate for Scotland, and will therefore differ from the headline unemployment estimates published in the Labour Market Statistical Bulletin.
The estimates in Table 1 are for a subset of the population and are therefore subject to margins of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in Table 1.
National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
| Table 1: Number of unemployed persons aged between 18 and 24 years resident in the UK and Scotland | ||
| Thousand | ||
| 12 months ending | United Kingdom | Scotland |
| June 2007 | 496 | 40 |
| September 2007 | 488 | 40 |
| December 2007 | 485 | 36 |
| March 2008 | 487 | 37 |
| June 2008 | 498 | 37 |
| September 2008 | 515 | 39 |
| December 2008 | 557 | 43 |
| March 2009(1) | (*)590 | **44 |
| Note: Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality below. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent. we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key Coefficient of Variation (CV) (%) Statistical Robustness * 0 ≤ CV<5 Estimates are considered precise ** 5 ≤ CV <10 Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 ≤ CV <20 Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ≥ 20 Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes. Source: Annual Population Survey. | ||
| Table 2: Number of persons( 1) aged be t ween 18 and 24 years resident in Highland, Scotland and the UK claiming Jobseeker's Allowance | |||
| Highland | Scotland | United Kingdom | |
| January 2007 | 740 | 24,705 | 284,185 |
| February 2007 | 780 | 25,715 | 294,445 |
| March 2007 | 715 | 25,175 | 289,365 |
| April 2007 | 620 | 23,525 | 273,300 |
| May 2007 | 580 | 22,605 | 262,950 |
| June 2007 | 545 | 21,935 | 251,630 |
| July 2007 | 600 | 23,135 | 258,355 |
| August 2007 | 570 | 23,400 | 264,020 |
| September 2007 | 450 | 20,860 | 257,165 |
| October 2007 | 465 | 19,380 | 242,990 |
| November 2007 | 485 | 18,920 | 233,900 |
| December 2007 | 525 | 19,245 | 235,210 |
| January 2008 | 555 | 20,840 | 246,560 |
| February 2008 | 635 | 22,455 | 260,585 |
| March 2008 | 605 | 22,250 | 259,610 |
| April 2008 | 510 | 21,520 | 253,030 |
| May 2008 | 485 | 20,975 | 249,455 |
| June 2008 | 505 | 21,640 | 249,605 |
| July 2008 | 580 | 23,995 | 269,195 |
| August 2008 | 570 | 25,765 | 292,715 |
| September 2008 | 565 | 24,235 | 300,895 |
| October 2008 | 625 | 24,475 | 302,300 |
| November 2008 | 735 | 26,240 | 322,920 |
| December 2008 | 795 | 28,140 | 348,015 |
| January 2009 | 925 | 31,240 | 379,535 |
| February 2009 | 1,115 | 36,335 | 443,200 |
| March 2009 | 1,130 | 37,735 | 460,420 |
| April 2009 | 1,000 | 37,130 | 460,590 |
| May 2009 | 955 | 36,660 | 453,505 |
| June 2009 | 945 | 37,650 | 448,735 |
| July 2009 | 1,000 | 40,525 | 468,990 |
| August 2009 | 975 | 41,765 | 489,630 |
| September 2009 | 900 | 37,860 | 487,880 |
| Notes: 1. Data rounded to nearest 5. 2. Age data are only available for computerised claims, which account for 99.7 per cent. of all claims. Source: Jobcentre Plus Administrative System. | |||