UNEMPLOYMENT

Waikato Times, Volume 123, Issue 20576, 13 August 1938, Page 8

UNEMPLOYMENT

WORLD STATISTICS THE LATEST COMPARISONS GENEVA, July 5 World unemployment statistics for tile second quarter of 1938, which have just been compiled by the International Labour office, show that, compared with the corresponding quarter of 1937, unemployment has increased in nine countries. These are: the United Stales, Canada, Belgium, the United Kingdom (Great Britain and Northern Ireland), Ireland, France, Denmark, Bulgaria and Norway. Compared with the previous quarter of 1938, however, unemployment, the statistics disclose, .has declined in ail except the first three. Thus, in the second quarter of 1938, the statistics reveal, the United States had 11,129,107 unemployed, *2,816,279 more than in the corresponding quarter of 1937 and 156,107 more than in the previous quarter of 1938. Canada had 116,948—16,525 more than in the second quarter of 1937 and 26,082 more than in the first quarter of 1938; while Belgium had 141,499 16,830 more than in the second quarter of 1937 and 5201 more than in the first quarter of 1938. British Returns On the other hand, the United Kingdom, with 1,778,805, had 381,805 more than in the second quarter of 1937, hut 28,712 less than in the first quarter of 1938; Ireland, with 97,571, had 9091 more than in the second quarter of 1937, but 7258 less than in tile first quarter of 1938; and France, wuli 4ii,©Jo, had 37,549 more than in the second quarter of 1937, but 32,541 less than in the first quarter of 1938. Denmark, with 93,342, had 19,963 more than in the second quarter of 193 7, but 33,880 less than in the first quarter of 1938; while Bulgaria, with 9402, had 3053 more than in the second quarter of 1937, but 9G60 less than in the first quarter of 1938; and Norway, with 22,938, had only 910 more than in the second quarter of 1937, and 12,373 less than in the first quarter of 1938. * An Increase Besides the United States, Canada and Belgium, the statistics disclose, four other countries had more unemployed in the second quarter of 1938 than in the first quarter. Chile, with a total of 3592, showed an increase of 455; Czechoslovakia, with 204,132, an increase of 26,160; Hungary, with 47,423, an increase of 1291; and Rumania, with 10,907, an increase of 4564. But in all these countries there was a decline, compared with the second quarter of 1937. Index numbers of persons in employment, made public at the same time by the International Labour Office, reveal that between the second quarter of 1937 and the second quarter of 1938, the volume of employment increased in all but four countries. The four exceptions were: —The United States, where employment declined from 97.5 per cent, of the 1929 average in the second quarter of 1937, to 7 6.0 per cent in the second quarter of 1938; Great Britain, where the decline was from 112.2 to 110.7 per cent; Belgium, where the decline was from 86.5 to 80.1 per cent.; and Luxemburg, where the decline was from 75.2 to 74.2 per cent. Thirteen countries, the index numbers disclose, had more persons in employment in the second quarter of 1938 than at. the peak of the prosperity period in 1929. Compared With 1929 Estonia, with 1 14.3 per cent, of her 1 929 average—a gain of 5.0 per cent, over the corresponding quarter of 1937—1 ed all the rest. The Union of South Africa was next with 135.9, a gain of 4.8 per cent. Then came: Japan, with 135.6, a gain of 14.6 per cent; Australia with 125.0, a gain of 7.0 per cent; Latvia with 122.5, a gain of 12.7 per cent; Sweden with 116.1, a gain of 4.3 per cent; Great Britain with 110.7, a drop of 1.5 per cent; Germany with 110.3, a gain of 5.5 per cent; Finland with 109.2, a gain of i. 4 per cent; Hungary with 108.3, a

pain of 8.3 per cent: Yugoslavia, with 107.8, a gain of 7.3 per cent; Italy with 105.7, a pain of 10.0 per rent; and Norway with 102.0, a gain of 1.0 per cent. In making public these statistics, International Labour office officials cautioned that since the method of compiling them differs from country to country, as well as the sources from which they come and dates for which latest figures are available, they cannot he accepted as accurate measurements but only as indicating trends.