NUMBER OF WORKERS IN BRITISH EXPORT TRADE INCREASES

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 November 1947, Page 6

NUMBER OF WORKERS IN BRITISH EXPORT TRADE INCREASES

LONDON, November 12. The Ministry of Labour has announced a striking increase in September of 131,000 in the number of workers employed in export trades. Eighty-one thousand of the additional workers are in the metal, engineering, and chemical industries, and 50,000 in the textile, clothing, boot and shoe, and pottery industries. Men and women engaged on work for the export markets at the end of September totalled 1,719,00.0, compared with 1,588,000 in August, 1,319,000 in the middle of 1946, and 990,000 in the middle of 1939.

The Ministry said that the inference was that there would be sufficient workers to achieve the Government’s target of a 40 per cent, increase in exports early in 1948. With a weekly average production of 275,000 tons, which is the highest ever achieved, the British steel industry in October broke all records. The production rate was equal to 14,316,000 tons a year. The equivalent annual rate in September was 13,841,000 tons, and in October, 1946, it was 13,226,000 tons.

British Iron and Steel Federation figures show an increase in the annual rate of pig iron production for October—B,3s2,ooo tons, compared with 7,805,000 tons in September, and 8,102,000 tons for October, 1946. The federation added that pig iron was still below current requirements because coke supplies continued to be substantially below the allocation. The present low stocks of pig iron caused particular anxiety because the limitations on transport meant that any interruption resulted in an abrupt check on output