HC Deb 15 February 1934 vol 285 c2074
5. Sir PHILIP DAWSON

asked the Minister of Labour the proportional increase in the number of persons employed in retail co-operative establishments in 1933 compared with 1918?

Sir H. BETTERTON

I am informed by the Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies that the increase in the number of persons employed in retail co-operative establishments, between 1918 and the end of 1932 (the latest date for which information is available) is about 56 per cent. I should perhaps add that though precisely comparable figures are not available there is no reason to suppose that this proportionate increase is materially different from the increase which took place in the same period in the numbers engaged in retail trading generally.