§ MR. MOND (Chester)To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he can see his way to show in the Returns of unemployment by the Board of Trade what percentage of such unemployment is due to sickness, weather conditions, holidays, trade dis- 1146 putes, want of raw material or stocks, and want of employment; and what is the average length of time of unemployment of those returned as unemployed.
§ (Answered by Mr. Lloyd-George) The existing monthly Returns as to unemployment published by the Board of Trade in the Labour Gazette are so devised as to exclude, so far as possible, cases arising from sickness, trade disputes, or holidays. It does not appear practicable to obtain from employers and trade unions monthly information with regard to the various causes of the unemployment shown in their Returns, or as to its average duration. An Annual Report is, however, published, showing the number of persons affected by trade disputes and their duration. Certain information as to the amount of working time lost through sickness and other causes, in the engineering trade, will be found in Cd. 2337 of 1904, page 99.
§ MR. MONDTo ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he can take further steps to obtain Returns of employment and unemployment which will include a larger number of industries and workmen than is at present the case in the Board of Trade Returns.
§ (Answered by Mr. Lloyd-George.) Most of the principal industries in the United Kingdom are represented in the statistical Returns published in the Labour Gazette, except agriculture and railways, and as regards agriculture a monthly article is published upon the general state of employment. The number of workpeople included in the Returns of employment and unemployment amounts to about 1,700,000, compared with about 500,000 in 1893, and continual efforts are being made to extend the information obtained from employers and trade unions.