§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will make a statement on the March unemployment figures, and give reasons why they were published in the Press prior to his Department's official announcement.
§ Mr. Dudley SmithBetween February and March the total number of persons registered as unemployed increased by 32,980 to 753,810, or 3.3 per cent. of all employees. This increase included a rise of 16,131 in the number who were temporarily stopped from work. The unemployment figures were published at 12 noon on Thursday, 18th March. My Department is not responsible for any speculation which appeared in the Press before that time as to what the figures were likely to be.