§ Mr. Murrayasked the Minister of Labour if he will give the highest figure of unemployment in this country, the date of same during the years 1945–46–47; the comparative figures for the years 1919–20–21; and the number of unemployed for the nearest date in 1948.
§ Mr. IsaacsDuring the years 1945–47 the highest number of insured persons registered as unemployed was 1,874,000 at 22nd February, 1947, when the fuel shortage and bad weather severely restricted employment. In addition it was estimated that about 500,000 persons were stood off from employment but did not register. Apart from the period of the fuel shortage, the highest figure was 401,000 at 13th January, 1947. Comparable figures are not available for 1919 and 1920, but the highest figure for 1921 was 2,550,000 in May, 1921, when, however, employment was affected by the shortage of fuel resulting from the prolonged stoppage of work in the coal mines. Before this stoppage, the highest figure was 1,660,000 in March, 1921. The figure for 15th March, 1948, the latest at present available, was 299,000.