§ Mr. KELLYasked the Minister of Labour if his Department has prepared an estimate of the number of unemployed in the engineering trade, with the cost to the industry?
§ Mr. BETTERTONFigures can only be given from June, 1923, at which date the present classification of industries was adopted. The average numbers of work-people unemployed in the engineering trade (including engineers' iron and steel founding, electrical, marine, and constructional engineering, and the construction and repair of motor vehicles, cycles and aircraft) were as follow:
1923 (June to December) 176,517 1924 132,221 1925 110,616 1926 140,549 1927 93,040 1928 (January to March) 81,726 No separate record is kept of contributions and benefit in respect of particular industries. A rough estimate can, however, be made on the assumption that the payments of contributions and benefit and the cost of administration is at the same average per head as for all insured trades taken together, due allowance being made for the rate of unemployment
816Wthe registers of Employment Exchanges in the areas mentioned:
and the proportion of women and juveniles. On this basis the figures are as follow:
Income: £ Contributions from employers 7,500,000 Contributions from work people 7,000,000 Contributions from Exchequer 5,500,000 £20,000,000
Expenditure: Unemployment benefit 21,000,000 Administration 2,500,000 £23,500,000