HC Deb 19 July 1938 vol 338 cc2011-2W
Mr. Kirby

asked the Minister of Labour how many patternmakers and sheet-metal workers, respectively, were unemployed on 1st June this year, and what were the corresponding figures for last year on the same date throughout

Area Patternmaker, etc. (as defined above). Sheet-iron Worker, Sheet metal Worker, Tinsmith, etc. (as defined above).
7th March, 1938 1st March, 1937 7th March, 1938 1st March, 1937
Glasgow 60 26 148 343
Greenock 4 2 8 24
Coventry 4 1 39 28
Birmingham 10 2 162 251
Liverpool (including Bootle) 5 97 86
Birkenhead 2 1 1 6

A special inquiry into the costitution of the unemployed in the engineering and motor vehicle, cycle and aircraft industries showed that at May, 1937, the numbers of pattermakers and sheet-metal workers(including sheet-iron workers, sheet-metal

the country as a whole; and how many such skilled men were unemployed on the same dates in Glasgow, Greenock, Coventry, Birmingham, Liverpool, and Birkenhead, respectively?

Mr. E. Brown

pursuant to his reply (OFFICIAL REPORT, 30th June, 1938; col. 2102, Vol. 337) supplied the following statement:

The statistics which are obtained quarterly by my Department as to the numbers unemployed in individual occupations relate to the numbers of wholly unemployed persons, aged 18 and over, registered in all industries in the following groups of occupations, namely pattern-makers, etc. (including foremen, charge hands (patternmaking), patternmakers (wood, metal, grate and stove, stucco modellers, artificial stone), pattern filers, patternshop storekeepers, etc.) and sheet-iron workers, sheet-metal workers and tinsmiths (including foremen, charge hands, markers-out, cutters-out, panel beaters, metal finishers, straighteners, planishers, inspectors, viewers, examiners, whitesmiths, etc.). The numbers of persons registered as unemployed in Great Britain in these two groups of occupations on 7th March, 1938, were 389 and 1,976 respectively, as compared with 245 and 1,981 at 1st March, 1937. The numbers of such persons registered at the undermentioned Employment Exchanges at these dates were as shown below.

workers, tinsmiths, markers-out, cutters-out (hand) and panel beaters) registered as unemployed in Great Britain in these industries alone were 74 and 193 respectively.