§ Mr. Byersasked the Minister of Labour what is the present distribution of manpower in the industries detailed in Table A on page 29 of the White Paper. Cmd. 7046.
§ Mr. IsaacsThe estimated distribution of total manpower (men 14 to 64, women 14 to 59) at the end of April, 1947, among the industries shown in Table A on page 33 of the Economic Survey for 1497 (Cmd. 7046) was as follows. Figures are not available for a later date, except for coal mining, where the total at the end of May was 754,000 (corresponding to 716,000 wage earners on colliery books):
143W
Industry. Thousands. Coal Industry 750* Public Utilities 262 Transport 1,381 Agriculture and Fishing 1,077 Building and Civil Engineering 1,280† Building Materials and Equipment 632 Metals and Engineering 2,817 Textiles and Clothing 1,443 Food, Drink and Tobacco 603 Chemicals 327 Other Manufacturing Industries 1,286 Distribution 2,312 Other Consumers' Services 2,024 Public Service 2,145 Total in Civil Employment 18,339 Armed Forces and Auxiliary Services 1,371 Total in Employment 19,710 Demobilised men and women not yet in employment 115 Insured unemployed 385‡ Total working population 20,210 * The corresponding figure for wage earners on colliery books is 712,000. † The corresponding figure for employed male operatives aged 16 and over was 957,000. ‡ Estimate for end of April.