HC Deb 10 February 1931 vol 248 cc237-40W
Sir N. GRATTAN-DOYLE

asked the Minister of Labour how the percentage of workers unemployed in Great Britain compares with the percentage for Germany, the United State of America, Belgium, France and Italy?

Mr. R. A. TAYLOR

asked the Minister of Labour (1) if she has any information as to the volume of unemployment in the United States of America;

(2) if she has any information as to the volume of unemployment in Germany?

Miss BONDFIELD

A summary of official statistics of unemployment in oversea countries appears each month in "The Ministry of Labour Gazette." The number of persons registered at the German Employment Exchanges as unemployed on 15th January, 1931, was 4,765,000 (provisional figure). The number of the unemployed in the United States is not known; but I understand that the number in the first week of December, 1930, was reported to the Senate as between 4,500,000 and 5,000,000. Unofficial estimates range from 5,300,000 in December, 1930 (the estimate of the American Federation of Labour "of the total number out of work in all trades in the United States, union and nonunion"), to about 8,000,000 (the estimate of the National Unemployment League). It is possible that the lower of these estimates relates to industrial workers only. Statistics of unemployment are not available in the form of percentages for France and Italy, where 45,098 persons at 24th January, 1931, and 642,169 persons at the end of December, 1930, were registered as unemployed respectively. In addition 21,788 persons were recorded in Italy as partially unemployed at the same date. The representative of the French Government on the Governing Body of the International Labour Office is reported by the Press to have made recently a statement on unemployment, according to which the volume of unemployment in France is much greater than appears from the published figures given above, the results of a special inquiry made in January showing that 350,000 persons in France were wholly unem- ployed, and 1,000,000 partially unemployed. The latest available percentages of unemployment in the other countries named are given in the following table,

Country. Date. Percentage unemployed. Authority for the figures.
Wholly unemployed. On short time.
Great Britain 22.12.30 14.7 5.2* —
Germany 27.12.30 31.7 16.9 German Federation of Trade Unions.†
United States Dec., 1930. 23.0 8.0 to 31.0 American Federation of Labour.‡
Belgium 29.11.30 6.1 12.0 Ministry of Industry, Labour and Welfare.§
* Figures represent percentage rate of unemployment among persons insured under the Unemployment Insurance Acts. The figure in the short time column includes not only persons on short time but other persons temporarily stopped from the service of employers.
† Based on returns in respect of 4,445,443 members of trade unions.
‡ Based on returns made by trade unions in 24 cities. The Federation's "weighted figure, representing unemployment in the country as a whole, union and non-union, shows 16.5 per cent. out of work in December, 1930." The percentage of trade unionists on short time varies in the 24 cities, no general average being given.
§ Based on returns relating to 626,220 members of unemployment insurance funds.

but it should be noted that owing to differences in the methods of compilation, these percentages are not necessarily comparable with one another.