MANPOWER IN AUSTRALIA

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 23848, 18 January 1943, Page 4

MANPOWER IN AUSTRALIA

SERVICES AND WAR INDUSTRIES

200.000 MORE RECRUITS REQUIRED Rec. 11.30 p.m.) SYDNEY, Jan. 17. Australia’s manpower situation was so grave that war production might have to be curtailed or the fighting services might be starved of reinforcements, declared the Australian Prime Minister (Mr J. Curtin) to-day. Th 6 full Cabinet was informed by Mr Curtin that between now and June 146,000 more men and 64,000 more women were needed for the services and munitions works. Cabinet decided to transfer more men from war industries to the fighting services.

While Australia’s requirements of manpower from October to December last year were 10,000 a month, requirements from now until June would be 35,000 a month, stated Mr Curtin. Of this figure it was estimated that only 10,000 a month could be provided from ordinary sources. Rural industries could not provide any more men. Civil factory production had already contributed more than two-thirds of its pre-war strength and could provide only a few thousapd more. Australia had no reserve of Unemployed and few people not gainfully employed remained to be drawn on. A high proportion of white-collar workers, the only large reservoir of labour remaining, was physically unsulted for the fighting services or war factories Australia’s normal net increase in working population provided, only 25,000 men and 1000 women a month. “Recruits for service needs come chiefly from men in war and other essential industries,’’ declared Mr Curtin. “In the light of service requirements there will be a large gap between the withdrawal of workers from war production and essential activities, and the supply of labour available to make* good this withdrawal.” Mr Curtin added that the responsible Ministers would make a further report to Cabinet on this acute problem.