§ 8. Mr. Randallasked the Minister of Labour if he will state the numbers of unemployed in the Gateshead Borough at 31st January in each of the last three years.
Date October, 1938 October, 1946 April, 1947 October 1957 s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. Average Weekly Earnings of Adult Male Manual Workers 69 0 120 9 123 5 251 Above expressed as an index-October, 1938=100 100 175 179 365 Above expressed as an index—April, 1947=100 — — 100 205 Cost of Living Index: On basis October, 1938=100 100 130 130 † Retail Prices Index: June, 1947 On basis June, 1947=100 — — 100 164 * Provisional figure. † The Cost of Living Index was based on the standard of living of the working classes in 1914 and differs considerably in scope and content from the Interim Index of Retail Prices and the present Index of Retail Prices. It cannot therefore be satisfactorily linked to these indices which have operated since June. 1947.