The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo. TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 1935. UNEMPLOYMENT COST.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 130, 4 June 1935, Page 6

The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo.

TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 1935. UNEMPLOYMENT COST.

For the cause that lacks assistance, For the wrong that needs resistuvce, For the future in 'he distance, And the good that iot> oau dc

In his statement on unemployment the Minister has made the most of a moderate improvement. Tlic position is thai the Dominion still continues to spend nearly £400,000 a month on relief in various ways. While there has been a reduction from a shilling to tenpence in the pound in the rate of taxation on wages and incomes, the total collected shows little change, and the latest information as to where the money goe.s indicates that too much of it is still used on Scheme 5. The deputychairman of the Unemployment Board said in April that 56 per cent of a typical month's expenditure went to support this particular scheme. For a considerable time the Board has been looking for ways and means to change over from sustenance works to other methods, but so far the progress has been slow. More men are engaged to-day in the building and allied industries, and for this the Board can claim some credit, but there should be room for much more development on the industrial side. Winter may be the least favourable season for opening up in new directions, but it is to be hoped that the attention the Board is now giving to the study of new proposals will lead to something valuable in the coming spring. Opportunities for the placing of men on farm work are unfortunately limited by marketing difficulties and low prices, but in this Dominion there should be a livelihood for an increasing number in secondary, industries. There is scope for more small industries, and the Unemployment Board should have the co-operation of the Department of Industries and Commerce in its efforts to determine where the best prospects are to be found. As economic conditions improve it should also meet with a better response from employers in the attempt to place men in permanent work. Recovery is a process which gathers strength as it goes, and the most encouraging feature from the viewpoint of the unemployed is that the employing capacity, of industry, as indicated by the improvement in tax revenue, is definitely on tho upgrade.