INDUSTRIES IN BRITAIN

Taranaki Daily News, 12 January 1932, Page 12

INDUSTRIES IN BRITAIN

CHANGES SINCE 1923Redistribution of workers. At a time when a revival in our basic industries seems imminent particular significance attaches to figures just published by the Ministry for Labour show'ing the extent to which labour has been redistributed during the years, of depression) writes a correspondent in The Times Trade and Engineering Supplement. i The figures show the growth and decline of the number of insured workers in the different industries during the past eight years —that is, between July, 1923, and July, 1931. During this period there was a growth in all industries taken together of 14.5 per cent. In one-third of the industries, however, there was a decline averaging 11.7 per cent., and in the remainder an increase of 34 per cSnt. ' . The industries which show a decline in the number of insured employees cover about 4,250,000 workers, and include the principal mining, metal, and textile trades, the decreases ranging from 0.2 to 37.3 per cent. The percentage declines for the more important sections of industry were: Mining and quarrying other -than coal and iron, 87.3; carriages, carts, etc., 32.9; iron mining, 30.9; National Government, 30.2; pig iron, 28.1; shipbuilding, 25.0; steel melting and rolling, 16.9; marine engineering, 14.6; coalmining, 13.2; general engineering, 10-2; woollen and worsted, 7.9; and cotton, 1.7. It should be observed that the figures relate to the numbers insured in. the various industries, whether actually in employment or not. The industries named are, of course, “those in which, ■on the whole, unemployment is tihe heaviest, and the numbers actually m work would show a much greater decline since 1923. The trades in which the personnel has shown an increase during the eight years are usually those of the sheltered ■type.. The figures for some of the more important are as follows: Increase since Industry. July, 1923 per cent. Public Works contracting .. 120.5 Silk and artificial silk ..... 99.8 Electrical contracting 95.2 Artificial stone and concrete 93.9 Tramway and ’bus service ... 64.9 Electrical engineering 54.7 Distributive trades ......... 52.4 Brick, tile, etc. , 51.1 Laundering 42.2 Motor vehicles 32.6 Building ..............• - 26.0 The extent of the increase in some of these cases is remarkable. The growth of relief works on roads, etc., accounts for the fact that the number of workers employed on public works has more than doubled. The development of the artificial -silk industry is also reflected in the figures, as is also the expansion of the motor-coach and omnibus services. The growth of the distributive trades, which comprise in the main retail shops, is a matter which calls for. serious consideration. In the first place it is a phenomenon which one would not normally expect in a period of falling wages and salaries and of short-fime working and under-employment, when the spending power of the workers has been limited. In the second place, the increase of 62.4 per cent, represents the addition of well over half a million workers of the unproductive type to the population, and implies a considerable expansion in the amount of capital invested in shop premises. The wisdom of such a policy in times of trade depression is open to doubt. The distributive trades now account for 14.7 per cent, of the insured workers, compared with 10.9 per cent, in 1923. Compared with these figures, mining, metals, and textiles account for 36.2 per cent., compared with 42.5 per cent, in 1923. Figures relating to the distribution of insured workers in different areas show that the tendency for industry to move southwards continues. The following table shows the extent of the increase in the numbers insured in each main division since 1923: Increase since Division. July, 1923. Per cent. South-Eastern South-Western 20 -8 London 20.4 Midlands ■ North-Western 10 - 4 North-Eastern 8 - 9 Scotland Wales L 4

At the present time the southern portion of' the country contains 48.4 per cent of the workers, compared with 45.7 * per cent, eight years ago. The future tendency of this southward movement will be watched with interest. On the one hand the revival of the heavy industries oY the north may check the movement, while on the other hand it seems probable tha.t the lighter industries may develop in the south, particularly with the inflow of foreign manufactures. One outstanding feature of the district figures is that the distributive trades have grown almost as much in the north as in the southern part of the country. An ° th< ; r worthy of comment is the fact that the number, of building trade workers is growing rapidly in the south and declining in.the north.