More Workers - There is always some increase of work
before Christmas, so that the Ministry of Labour's return up to December 10th may well show an increase of 84,000 in employed persons and a decrease of 76,000 in unemployed persons, as compared with the previous month's figures. Yet it is encouraging to note that the increase of employment was partly in the heavy industries—coal, iron and steel, and engineering—which have suffered most and longest. The continued growth of unemployment in the building trades is clearly attributable to an economy campaign that has been carried to unwise extremes by Government and municipalities alike. In the Landon area the rate of growth in unemployment has perceptibly slackened throughout the past year—yet another faint sign, it may be hoped, that the worst of the storm has passed or is passing. An increase in the January and February figures may be expected, but a steady decrease should begin in March.
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