§ Mr. E. HARMSWORTHasked the Minister of Labour how long the Government intend to continue the unemployment pay; and whether married women draw their out-of-work pay when their husbands are in regular work?
§ Dr. MACNAMARAI would refer my hon. Friend to the announcement made in the course of last night's Debate. Under the existing Unemployment Insurance Act, married women who are otherwise entitled to benefit are not disqualified if their husbands are at work. The point raised by my hon. Friend is under consideration.
316Wavailable are 1887, 1888, 1893 to 1895, and 1909, when the trade union percentages were 10.3, 7.8, 10.0, 7.0, 8.1, and 8.7.
Periods of acute depression in trade occurred in. 1879, 1884 to 1887, 1893–4 and 1908–9. Monthly percentages are not available for all these years, but in the Table below a comparison is made between the percentage for the principal groups of trades at the end of January, 1921, and the mean annual percentage for each of the years quoted: