THE UNEMPLOYMENT MYSTERY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23339, 6 May 1939, Page 12

THE UNEMPLOYMENT MYSTERY

The last statement of unemployment statistics in the obscure form perfected by Mr. Armstrong has been issued by the Minister ot Labour, Mr. Webb. Like all its predecessors, it is notable for what it conceals rather than what it reveals, but now that the Employment Promotion Act has been repealed future information is likely to become even more meagre. The incidence of unemployment, according to Mr. Webb, will henceforth be reflected in the number of recipients of unemployment benefits under the Social Security Act, but there is no guarantee that regular returns will be published, enabling the public to keep a check on the Government's handling of a problem that still defies solution. Only a few months ago, unemployment was said to be on the verge of disappearing; there would soon be more jobs available than there were men to fill them. But month after month expenditure from the Employment Promotion Fund, for the purpose of putting men in work as distinct from the payment of relief, has continued at a level between £400,000 and £500,000. This means that the Labour Department has been spending £5,000,000 a year in finding work for men who would otherwise be classed as unemployed. In five months' time at the latest the Employment Promotion Fund will go out of existence, and the source of wages for "created" jobs will disappear. The public is entitled to ask Mr. Webb for a more explicit statement of the provision to be made for those who at present cannot be employed without State assistance, and it is also entitled to an assurance that unemployment registrations under the Social Security Act will be regularly published.