mployment in March The unemployment figures for March normally show
a decline from the figures for February ; this March, how- ever, the decline was greater than usual, and for that reason is encouraging. The total of 1,726,929 unemployed in March was 170,000 less than the total for February ; in the two months together a decline of 312,000 was registered. The figures for last March were 22,000 less than the corre- sponding total for last year ; this is satisfactory, because the February figures did not compare favourably with the figures for February, 1938. The increase in married workers in employment is even more encouraging than the decline in unemployment. The total of 12,403,000 employed for March shows an increase of 18i,000 on last month, and of 18o,000 on March, 1938. Fortunately this improvement is general, and extends even to textiles, which have been losing ground. The unfortunate exception is shipbuilding ; the armament industries continue to improve. Unemployment is now lower than it has been since December, 1937 ; the seasonal winter decline which began in October, 1938, has been made up. Unfortunately the figures of those unem- ployed for twelve months or more, about 286,000, shows no improvement.
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