IN CRISIS YEAR

Greymouth Evening Star, 17 July 1939, Page 10

IN CRISIS YEAR

EMPLOYMENT IN BRITAIN

LONDON, June 1.

The average number of persons in employment last year was about 120,000 fewer than in 1937. and the total of workless increased bv about •166,000.

In spite of this setback—due to the American slump and “international complications”—the annual report of the Ministry of Labour, published yesterday, points out that the employment figures for 1938 were higher than in any previous year except 1937 and over 2.0 per cent, higher than in 1924. Tables show that during the last 15 yeafrrs, notwithstanding a large reduction in the mining and cotton industries, the numbers in employment in other industries rose by about 2,130,000, and by well over 2,000,000 in the six years since the depression year of 1932.

“The effects of the recession of 1937-8 were spread very unevenly over different areas of the country,” the report states. "The blow fell • mainly on the north-western area, in which employment declined by 149,000, mainly due to contraction in the cotton industry. "Wales also suffered esverely with a fall of 28,000, mainly in the iron and steel and tinplate industries, while in the Midlands there was a fall of 70,000. “In oilier ureas the decline was rela■tively smaller, notably in the northern division, where it was 4,0110. “Thus, the southern urea of the country (London, the sum h-eastern. south-western and midland areas), in! which employment in recent, years ox-1 panded much more rapidly than in the northern group and in Wales, hast maintained its advantage; its numeri-i cal reduction in employment was loss' than one-half that of the northern, area, although the proportions of the ' total insured population in oneh are roughly equal."