HC Deb 11 February 1938 vol 331 c1420W
Mr. Ridley

asked the Minister of Labour, how many persons, at the most recent date for which the figures are available, had been registered as unemployed for a period of 12 months or over?

Mr. E. Brown

At 17th January, 1938, the number of applicants for benefit or allowances who had been continuously on the registers of Employment Exchanges in Great Britain for twelve months or more was 277,616. A proportion of these persons will have had one or more short spells of employment lasting not more than three days each during that period. Corresponding figures are not available for persons who were not applying for benefit or allowances.