XN000022-1983-01-18 — Page 5

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CANAR: 10, 905

SPECIAL NEEDS

* OLD AGE ALLOWANCE: SOME 184 400 SENIOR CITIZENS

ARE NOW DRAWING THIS ALLOWANCE AND AN AVERAGE OF 1 248 ELDERLY PEOPLE ARE JOINING THEM EACH MONTH. TOTAL PAYMENTS FOR 1982-83 ARE ESTIMATED AT $449.52 MILLION.

* DISABILITY ALLOWANCE: THIS ALLOWANCE IS DRAWN BY SOME 35 300 SEVERELY DISABLED PEOPLE AT PRESENT AND THE NUMBER IS INCREASING AT AN AVERAGE OF 367 A MONTH. SOME $174.84 MILLION WOULD HAVE BEEN PAID OUT BY THE END OF THIS FINANCIAL YEAR.

QUARTERLY LABOUR FORCE FIGURES PUBLISHED

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THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR THE AUGUST OCTOBER 1982 QUARTER WAS FOUR PER CENT, WHICH COMPARES WITH 3.4 PER CENT FOR THE PREVIOUS MAY JULY QUARTER, AND 3.5 PER CENT FOR THE FEBRUARY - APRIL QUARTER, ALL FIGURES USING THE DEFINITIONS OF THE LABOUR FORCE SURVEY, ACCORDING TO FIGURES PUBLISHED BY THE COMMISSIONER FOR CENSUS AND STATISTICS.

THE INCREASES OF 0.6 PERCENTAGE POINT AND OF 0.5 PERCENTAGE POINT RESPECTIVELY WERE STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT COMPARED WITH THE TWO PREVIOUS QUARTERS.

IN COMMENTING UPON THESE FIGURES, THE COMMISSIONER FOR CENSUS AND STATISTICS SAID THAT BECAUSE THE PROPORTION OF FIRST-TIME JOB-SEEKERS (PEOPLE WHO HAVE JUST LEFT SCHOOL) VARIED FROM MONTH TO MONTH, THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE SHOULD BE USED IN MAKING COMPARISONS WITH THE FIGURES FOR EARLIER PERIODS.

THE ESTIMATED NUMBER OF EMPLOYED PERSONS IN THE AUGUST OCTOBER QUARTER WAS 2 405 000, WHICH WAS NOT SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT FROM THE FIGURE OF 2 401 800 FOR THE PREVIOUS QUARTER.

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STARTING WITH THE AUGUST - OCTOBER QUARTER, UNDEREMPLOYMENT FIGURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE. THE COMMISSIONER FÖR CENSUS AND STATISTICS EXPLAINED THAT, CONSISTENT WITH THE PRACTICE ADOPTED IN MANY COUNTRIES, PERSONS WHO WORKED LESS THAN 35 HOURS A WEEK WERE REGARDED AS UNDEREMPLOYED ONLY IF THEY WERE SEEKING MORE WORK OR WERE NOT SEEKING MORE WORK BECAUSE THEY BELIEVED MORE WORK WAS NOT AVAILABLE. IN OTHER WORDS, PEOPLE SUCH AS PART-TIME WORKERS WHO CHOSE TO WORK LESS THAN 35 HOURS A WEEK AND WERE NOT AVAILABLE FOR MORE WORK, WERE NOT UNDEREMPLOYED.

/BASED ON