§ Sir I. Alberyasked the Minister of Labour the numbers of persons employed, on the registers of the Chatham and Gravesend Employment Exchanges, at the latest convenient date; and give corresponding figures for the years 1935, 1936 and 1937?
§ Mr. E. BrownThe available figures relate to the total numbers of insured persons whose unemployment books were exchanged at the Chatham and Gravesend Employment Exchanges (including the Juvenile Employment Bureaux) at the1362W exchange of books beginning in July of each year, and the numbers of insured persons recorded as unemployed at those offices. The table below shows, for the Chatham and Gravesend Exchanges, the approximate numbers of books exchanged by insured persons aged 16–64 (exclusive of persons under the agricultural scheme) at the exchange of books in each of the years 1938, 1937, 1936 and 1935, and the numbers of insured persons recorded as unemployed at a date in October of the same years.
Date Chatham. Gravesend. Numbers of books exchanged—insured persons aged 16–64. July,1938 … 37,380* 16,370* July,1937 … 35,550 15,690 July,1936 … 33,740 15,320 July,1935 … 31,440 15,520 Insured persons, aged 16–64, recorded as unemployed. 17th October, 1938† … 2,354 1,605 18th October, 1937† … 2,556 1,432 26th October, 1936 … 2,677 1,560 21st October, 1935 … 3,488 1,763 * These figures include approximately 800 persons in Chatham and 120 in Gravesend in domestic employments which first become insurable on 4th April, 1938. These classes are also included in the numbers unemployed at 17th October, 1938. † The numbers unemployed at 17th October, 1938, and 18th October, 1937, are affected by the revised method of counting the unemployed, introduced in September, 1937, under which persons subsequently found to be in employment at the date of the count are excluded from the figures.