§ 6. Captain Sir GEORGE BOWYERasked the Minister of Labour how the numbers of unemployed to-day compare with those when the Government took office?
§ Miss BONDFIELDThe number of persons on the registers of Employment Exchanges in Great Britain on 9th December was 196,700 more than on 10th June.
§ Sir G. BOWYERIs the right hon. Lady aware that during the last three years, taking the period for the middle of November to the middle of December, the figures have steadily fallen week by week; and how does she explain the figures of the last few weeks?
§ Miss BONDFIELDI think the hon. and gallant Member is slightly in error. I have an answer here to another ques- 1595 tion giving the figures for comparative dates for the last two years, and the rise has been quite normal on the first Monday in December of each year.