§ 36. Captain P. MACDONALDasked the President of the Board of Trade what has been the course of employment and unemployment in the glove, cutlery and gas mantle industries since 1st April, 1930, up to the latest available date?
§ Mr. W. GRAHAMAs the answer contains a number of figures I will circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Captain MACDONALDIs it not a fact that unemployment has increased in these three industries?
§ Mr. GRAHAMThat is debatable apart from the general trade depression, because the trades, as these figures show, are really, in the aggregate, very small.
§ Captain MACDONALDIf the figures are not very large, may we have them now?
§ Following is the answer:
§ The following table shows the average numbers of workpeople employed in the glove-making, cutlery and gas mantle industries during the year 1930, so far as particulars have been received. Information is not available as to the numbers unemployed in these industries.
201| Quarter. | Glove-making. | Cutlery. | Gas Mantles. | |
| Leather Gloves. | Fabric Gloves. | |||
| 1930. | Average numbers of Workpeople employed. | |||
| First Quarter | 9,129 | 959 | 3,494 | 1,648 |
| Second Quarter | 9,049 | 862 | 3,574 | 1,370 |
| Third Quarter | 8,881 | 838 | Not yet available | 1,212 |
§ Notes.—The particulars in respect of gloves have been furnished by the Joint Industrial Council for the Glove-making Industry, and are stated to relate to firms which, in 1924, employed in the leather glove industry about 88 per cent. of the cutters and in the fabric glove industry about 82 per cent. of the cutters.
§ The cutlery figures have been supplied by the Sheffield Cutlery Manufacturers' Association and are stated to be in respect of 41 firms, which are estimated to have employed in 1924 not more than 40 per cent. of the persons employed in the whole industry.
§ The figures for the gas mantle industry, supplied by the Trade Association concerned, relate to the average weekly number of persons employed by firms which are claimed to represent about 95 per cent. of the output of the whole industry.