asked the Minister for Labour to what extent the disparity in wages paid to women and men is responsible for the inordinately high number of men who are unemployed; what percentage of the total workforce is currently unemployed; what percentage of this is male; and how many of these have been unemployed for three months, six months, nine months, twelve months, two years and over two years; and what action is proposed to reduce the present high level of unemployment.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Unemployment Statistics. Wages Disparity and Unemployment.
71.
There is no information available to me which would enable me to answer the first part of the Deputy's question.
On the 14th November, 1969, the latest date for which figures are available, the live register represented 5 per cent of the workforce and 82 per cent of those registered were males. As I explained during the recent debate on the Estimate for my Department the live register figures cannot now be regarded as a reliable indication of the number of persons available for and seeking work. The register includes casual workers who claim benefits between spells of work but who are not interested in ordinary full-time jobs; it also includes married women who register for the purpose of keeping their social insurance alive. I am satisfied that not all the people on the live register are available for full-time employment.
An examination of the register is made four times a year to see how long persons have been registered. The last such examination was made on the 29th August, 1969. The position then was that of 41,830 males registered, 16,152 were on the register for less than three months, 6,671 from three to six months, 7,861 from six to 12 months, and 11,146 for 12 or more months. The Deputy will be well aware that it is the Government's policy to create conditions of full employment as early as possible and that various facilities are available to stimulate the growth of industrial employment. There is clear evidence that this programme is paying off in the number of new jobs created. In the transportable goods industries the estimated numbers at work in June, 1969, were 11,000 more than in June, 1968.