44. Captain BROWNasked the Minister of Labour whether he has any records to show the present number of unemployed agricultural workers; whether he is aware that there is a great quantity of work available in country districts; and what is the cause of unemployment existing in agriculture when both work and workers are available?
§ Dr. MACNAMARAThe number of agricultural workers on the registers of Employment Exchanges on the 7th January, 1921, was 6,162, of whom 4,603 were farm labourers and 204 were women—a rate of unemployment of less than 1 per cent. The figures apply to the whole of the United Kingdom, and the number out of work in any district is not considerable. The number of applications from employers for workpeople at the same date was 285.