Sir F. HALLasked the Minister of Labour what wore the respective numbers of unemployed persons in Great Britain and in Germany on the 1st January, 1923, and on the 1st February, 1924?
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§ Mr. SHAWThe number of persons recorded on the live registers of the Employment Exchanges in Great Britain on 1st January, 1923, was 1,485,878, and on 4th February, 1924, the nearest available date, 1,211,919. No comparable figures can be given for Germany. From the latest published official returns of recipients of the donation for total unemployment, however, it is to be inferred that on 15th January, 1924, these persons numbered about 4,000,000, as compared with about 150,000 on 15th January, 1923, but the hon. and gallant Member must understand that I can take no responsibility for these figures.