Unemployment The Ministry of Labour's statistics, published on Monday, of
employment and unemployment on April 19th •give an extremely satisfactory picture of the progress of recovery. The total of insured workers in employment, at 113394,000, was the highest ever recorded -and 6o9,00o more than in April, 1936. Unemployment, at 1,454,443, was lower than at any time since December, 1929, the year immediately preceding the great slump, and was 146,758 lower than in March and 376,787 lower than in April, 1936. The analysis of the figures by industries is'equally encouraging, as it shows that recovery still does not depend predominantly upon rearmament ; the largest decreases in unemployment during the month were in building (43,302) and in the distributive trades 14,9531 public works contracting (io;800), which is third, has undoubtedly benefited from preparations for the Coronation. These figures are a convincing index of prosperity; unfortunately, as unemployment falls, labour troubles increase.
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