FINANCIAL NOTES
MARCH UNEMPLOYMENT
THE spring recovery in industry seems, without a doubt, to have been unusually sharp. The March unemployment returns show a drop of 169,782 following on a drop of 142,308 in February. The unemployment total was brought down to 1,726,929, which is the lowest since December, 1937. The im- provement compared with the previous month is spread over all areas of the country, and all the chief industries except shipbuilding. This is undoubtedly more than a mere seasonal recovery ; the March fall in unemployment of 169,789 compares with 61,440 in March, 1938, the month's total of 1,726,929 compares with 1,748,981 in March, 1938.
These figures give us further grounds for thinking that the trough of trade recession had by the date of the count been left well behind. But the count was taken on March 13th. Two days later Hitler entered Prague, and much water has flowed under the bridges since then. Thus the returns tell us nothing of how the industrial system has reacted to the new international crisis.
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