Unemployment. II
IT has been shown in the previous article that the unemployment, from which the country is suffering, is not of a cyclical character or due to those causes— whatever they are—that result in an alternate rise and fall of trade in general. Nor is it due to seasonal condi- tions or the caprice of fashion. All these operate nor- mally, whereas the peculiarity of the unemployment with which we are dealing is its abnormality. It is a dead weight on industries that are called basic or staple, either because they form the basis of others or because of their size and importance. Coal mining, iron and steel, engineering, shipbuilding, cotton and wool are such industries for one or other of these reasons. They are all suffering from prolonged and continuous depres- sion. On the other hand the statistics show that some trades are doing well or very well, among them are the luxury trades, paper and printing, the " distributive " trades, which employ a million and a half insured persons, and commerce, banking, etc., which employ 221,550. This distribution accounts for the brilliant appearance of the shops and the shoppers everywhere, except in some mining villages, and for the ever increasing stream of motor vehicles, which make it hard to believe in the depression. It is for the most part hidden, but real and urgent ; yet not of such extent as to justify pessimistic views of the industrial condition of the country. There is no sufficient reason to speak of the decline or the decay of England. When we contemplate the number of the unemployed it looks enormous, and when it is rising instead of falling the position seems hopeless ; but there is another side. The number of insured persons is nearly twelve millions, and of these all are employed except those on the unemployment register, which includes those temporarily stopped and casuals. In other words, at least ten and a half millions are at work. We cannot compare these figures with those before the War, when they covered a comparatively small number, but we know that the population has increased and that actually more people are at work than there were then. Seen in this light the situation is reassuring. The depressed industries are those that depend largely on export trade ; and the reason is that prices are too high for successful competition.
What are the measures taken or contemplated for their relief ? They may be divided into three groups— (1) those undertaken by the Government ; (2) those depending on the action of the depressed industries themselves ; (3) those that have to do with finance.
With regard to the Government measures, the Prime Minister, in his speech at the Cutlers' Feast on October 11th, said that it was the duty of the State to help, but not to hinder or interfere, and that the most practical thing a Government could do was to try to reduce burdens. He could not hold out much hope of reducing the national taxation, because the bulk of the expenditure was statutory and obligatory. No doubt it is. We have gone rather fast since the War in extending and multiplying the spending departments and increasing the salaries. It would have been wiser to wait until the enthusiasm of victory had subsided, and we knew better how we stood financially ; for it is easier to enlarge expenditure than to take a step back- wards. Economy should have been practised at the beginning. The endeavour to make the land fit for heroes to dwell in has had an ironical outcome. However, we can practise economy now, and at least refrain from further public expenditure such as The Labour Party contemplates. And not the Labour Party only. There are many who demand public economy and yet join in popular outcries that, if acted on, must increase expendi- ture without bringing in any return. Let us hope the Government will turn a deaf ear to them.
One thing a Government can do, which is preliminary to useful action, and that is obtain information. That has been done by the Ministry of Labour, which has this year published the results of a third inquiry into certain aspects of unemployment, and by the Industrial Trans- ference Board, which was appointed last January, mainly on account of the miners, who have no oppor- tunity of obtaining employment in their own districts. The general effect of the report to the Ministry of Labour on the conditions of unemployment is reassuring. The information was obtained at four hundred Labour Exchanges and related to a " sample " of nearly ten thousand persons, but it is believed to represent the whole field fairly. With regard to employability, 66.9 per cent. were classified as " would normally have steady employment," and 21.9 per cent. as " would normally have fair employment." That is to say, 88.8 per cent. were employable, against 2 per cent. " verging on the unemployable," and 4.9 per cent. who would not obtain a fair amount of employment. As to Poor Law relief, it was found that 94.6 per cent. of the men, and 98.5 per cent. of the women, were drawing no relief ; in 64 per cent. of those relieved, the benefit did not exceed 7s. 6d. a week, and in the great majority of other cases did not exceed 10s. An important conclusion is drawn from investigation of the relation between benefits and contributions. It is that among the great majority of claimants unemployment is not chronic. From an examination of the figures for seven years ending in April, 1927, the Ministry concludes that the proportion of male claimants who have suffered from " comparatively serious " unemployment is less than 7 per cent. This is the " hard core," which consists mainly of individuals over 45 years of age. The rest go in and out, and are constantly changing, a point to which I shall return.
The report of the Industrial Transfer Board deals with practical proposals, on which the Government have already taken or are taking action. It thinks the per- manent surplus of labour in coal-mining must be estimated at not less than 200,000, and adds to that another 100,000 in shipbuilding, iron and steel, and heavy engineering ; but of these latter some may expect to be reabsorbed. The cotton trade must also be prepared for an ultimate reduction of numbers, but the extent of the contraction is hypothetical. The Board are at pains to deny the impression, which they found in many minds, that workers in the heavy industries, and particularly miners, are of indifferent employment value. The success of the Canadian harvesters and of individuals who have tried the experiment of having men from the coalfields has probably killed that misconception, which would not occur to anyone who knows these men. The black spots of unemployment for miners are Northumber- land and Durham, South Wales and Scotland ; and, unfortunately, the surplus in iron and steel and ship- building is located for the most part in the same districts, and on the Clyde. With regard to measures of relief the Board are unable to make recommendations on two that have been advocated—raising the school age and giving pensions at 60. The first takes a prominent place in the Labour Party's programme, which at the same time insists that large numbers of obsolete and unsuitable school buildings need replacement, and that the size of classes is. already too large and must be heavily reduced. The measure would merely postpone the surplus for a year, besides further congesting the. existing schools. The earlier pensioning of superannuated workers---is also advocated by the Labour Party. A third measure is the starting of new industries in the distressed areas: This is commended to the notice of employers, and is being attempted in Cumberland, as Mr. Charles Roberts has shown; . Transference remains the chief measure, and in regard to this it is satisfactory to note that the Board do not regard the absorption of even 200,000 miners -as an impossible task ; every week at least 120,000 labour engagements are made through the Exchanges, and many others outside them.. The Government are acting on the recommendations' of the Board. They are opening two new training homes for agricultural settlers ; Lord Lovat is on a tour in which he will confer with the authorities of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand for the settlement of British emigrants, trained, with passage paid and a guarantee of work at fixed wages ; and meanwhile the success of the miner-harvester venture in Canada cannot fail to stimulate the scheme. Mr. Mackenzie King has emphatically repudiated the sug- gestion that the Dominions do not want British settlers. They do not want would-be settlers of the wrong type ; but for the right man they have unlimited room, and the miners have proved themselves in the vast majority of cases. It is a fortunate thing for the Dominions and their relations with the Mother Country that there happen to be so many men of the right type for settlers. So far as emigration can assist, it promises well ; but the transference policy• will depend more on migration at home. Here the Board insist on the co-operation of all who are able to give employment. The problem can be solved only " if the whole community realizes its existence and consciously resolves to grapple with They point out the difference in the local level of unem- ployment, which ranges from 2.4 per cent. in Hertford- shire and 4.8 per cent. in Greater London to 16.7 and 24.2 per cent. in South Wales and Durham, and to far higher figures in particular towns ; for instance, 42 per cent. in Bishop Auckland, 48.6 per cent. in Blaina, and 62.3 per cent. in Merthyr Tydfil. The aim is to transfer men to districts not enjoying immunity but bearing a lighter load.
The Government are doing what they can to assist this movement. Mr. Baldwin has written an appeal to employers ; arrangements have been made for loans to meet the expenses of removal and for the maintenance of families. The Government have also taken up the suggestion of the Board with regard to afforestation and have included a provision of £1,000,000 for forest holdings in the sum of five and a half millions to be voted for afforestation. Their derating proposals and safeguarding must be left to the next article.
A. SIEADWELL., (To be continued.)
Previous page
