BIG SUM SPENT ON THE UNEMPLOYED

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19108, 28 June 1930, Page 2

BIG SUM SPENT ON THE UNEMPLOYED

WORK WILL BE FOUND FOR 900 MORE MEN. (Special to the ” Star.”) WELLINGTON, June 27. In one year, the Government has spent £1,416,592 on the relief of unemployment. A general survey of the Government’s efforts to relieve the situation was made by the Hon E. A. Ransom, former Minister of Public Works, late tonight, in the course of which some impressive figures were mentioned* Combating the allegation that many men were unable to earn 10s a day, the Minister said the general average of over 5000 was 14s a day, while taking all the unemployed tinder Government control, the annual cost per man for wages, housing and general expenses, excluding engineering, was £350. The number of men provided with work since the present Government came into office was 31,233, including 20,346 on Government work, 6319 with local bodies, and 4568 in private employment. The Government had placed 4032 men since April, and during the same period 11,287 had left the works of their own accord, some possibly because they would not continue after a fortnight’s period on 14s a day, and preferred to return to the unemployed list, but mostly because they could get more satisfactory work elsewhere. Work for 900 More Men. During the present financial year, 16,031 men had been engaged in Government work and provision was now made for a further 920, viz., 200 m Auckland, 130 in Wellington, 150 in Christchurch, 50 in Dunedin and the others in smaller centres. The Minister quoted detailed figures of expenditure for the last three years to show the rapidly increasing amount, that for 1929-30 being:— £ Public Works 914,000 State Forest Service 185,400 Lands 518,725 Railway and Land Development Work 184,739 Then there were subsidies to local bodies totalling £111,728 last year, show ing a gross expenditure in one year by the Government of £1,415,592, or more than that spent in the previous two years.