WRONG IMPRESSION

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXVII, Issue 4473, 21 November 1933, Page 5

WRONG IMPRESSION

UNEMPLOYED IN NEW ZEALAND FEWER THAN SUPPOSED. A statement that the number of unemployed in New Zealand was not as great as some supposed, and that a misleading impression had been gained by many people, was made by the Hon. R. Masters, on behalf of the Government, in the Legislative Council on Friday afternoon. “There is an impression that we have 70,000 unemployed,” he said. “We have not got 70,000 unemployed; we have got 70,000 registered as relief workers, which is a totally different matter.” When unemployed men were engaged on a work like the Wellington railway station and their pay was subsidised, they were still registered as unemployed. There were 3400 men ineligible to work, and they might be called unemployable. They were always present. He expressed the opinion that after taking into account 43,000 men on part time employment under the No. 5 scheme, and 3700 others, the number one could really state as being the unemployed was 50,000. There were 10,968 engaged on remunerative work on farms, 7404 tradesmen employed under No. 10 scheme, 1472 on land development, 1164 engaged on back-block roads, 987 on afforestation, 3233 gold mining and prospecting, and 2541 on public works at standard rates of wages, being married men engaged on land settlement, making a total of 28,000. “I am afraid the Government have been to blame in putting the worst side before London,” he said.