Hopes for Prosperity The Prime Minister is on the whole
optimistic about the trade outlook, and since at the moment optimism is at a premium, it is satisfactory to find that in this case it is not belied by the announcement that the number of insured persons between the ages of 16 and 24 who were in employ- ment in Great Britain on October t7th is officially estimated at 12,294,000—an increase of 23,000 since September 12th. The number of registered unemployed has decreased by 17,391. At the same time a "very serious diminution" in the output of the cotton-spinning mills is disclosed in the second annual report of the Spindles Board ; and the general managers of the four main line railway companies have drawn the attention of the railwaymen's unions to the decline in railway revenues and have stated that in the New Year they may have to ask for reduced labour costs. This may be largely a strategic manoeuvre to counter the men's claim for a wage-increase, which it is quite clear there can be no possibility of granting in present circumstances.
Previous page
