Written question asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat) on Wednesday, 14 October 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 16 October 2009. It was answered by Lord Knight of Weymouth (Labour) on Monday, 26 October 2009 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Fife

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what average length of time a claimant received jobseeker's allowance in North East Fife constituency in (a) each of the last 12 months and (b) each of the last five years.

Answer

The information is in the following tables:

Average length of time a claimant received jobseeker's allowance in North East Fife constituency in each of the last 12 months
	Median (number of weeks)
October 2008	7.0
November 2008	6.7
December 2008	6.3
January 2009	7.6
February 2009	10.4
March 2009	9.1
April 2009	8.2
May 2009	11.4
June 2009	10.9
July 2009	12.5
August 2009	9.1
September 2009	10.8
Source:
DWP WPLS 100 per cent. data

Average length of time a claimant received jobseeker's allowance in North East Fife constituency in each of the last five years
October to September each year (Inclusive)	Median (number of weeks)
2004-05	9.0
2005-06	10.9
2006-07	10.9
2007-08	8.9
2008-09	9.1
Notes:
1. Data is published at www.nomisweb.co.uk
2. Median, rather than arithmetic mean, is the preferred measure of "average" for skewed distributions such as duration of claim
Source:
DWP WPLS 100 per cent. data

Secondary information