asked the Minister for Labour the number and nature of jobs available to people receiving unemployment assistance; the number of unemployed people who accepted those jobs so far in 1983; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Re-employment Figures.
241.
The information available to me relates to jobs filled through the National Manpower Service. However, employers are not obliged to notify their vacancies to the National Manpower Service and in fact the majority of vacancies are filled through other means.
Up to the end of August 1983, 22,137 vacancies were notified to the National Manpower Service and 17,868 were filled. Given the priorities of the service in submissions for vacancies, the majority of these jobs would have gone to the unemployed, viz, those on the live register and first time job seekers. The National Manpower Service handles all types of vacancy from unskilled up to managerial level so the jobs filled would extend over a broad range of occupational groups.
The constant change in the composition of the live register of unemployed, despite its continuing rise, indicates that in 1983 up to 15,000 people left the register each month and it can be taken that the vast majority of these had found employment through various means.
Given the concentration by the National Manpower Service on the unemployed, I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to employers to make greater use of the service when recruiting workers.