10 MAY 1940, Page 6

The latest set of unemployment figures has produced, as every

set does produce, the explanation that in reality the situation is much better than appeors, because the figures include a number of people who have only been out of a job for a short time and will soon be in one again. No doubt. But does not the total of the employed include a number of people who are in a job at the moment but will soon be out of one? In a time of generally improving employment the former category may be the larger of the two, but even so some account must be taken of the temporarily ins as well as of the temporarily outs.