Unemployment

The unemployment question and its cause, industrial and trade depression, engaged much of the attention of the British public last week.

In general terms, Capital sees the necessity of reducing wages and increasing hours in order to place industry in a position to compete with foreign enterprise which is everywhere underbidding it. So long as the costs of production are high, the capitalists declare, trade must stagnate and unemployment increase.

Labor faces the problem differently, but with equal logic. The volume of wages is higher than in 1913, but their value, owing to high prices, etc., is somewhat under the pre-War standard of 1913. Under such circumstances labor can see no justice in the proposals of the capitalists to reduce wages, but is apparently blind to two things :

1) That increase of hours and decrease in the scales of pay (which is not to be general for all or in all industries) actually will increase wages.

2) That in other countries labor works eight, nine and ten hours a day against the Briton's seven.

In particular these conditions relate to the coal industry and to the railways. The miners threatened the country with a general strike beginning Aug. 1, but probably this was no more than a threat for the purposes of maneuver. The railwaymen discussed a proposal for an "all round" reduction in wages and salaries of 5%, designed to affect laborers and officials.

The latest unemployment figures showed that 1,299,700 persons were in receipt of doles. This number was greater by 19,330 than the previous week and 295,918 more than a year ago. Normally there are 500,000 constantly out of work in Britain, and, taking into consideration that 200,000 workers are now entitled a dole which they were not last year and therefore did not figure in the official list of unemployed persons, the actual increase over the pre-War situation is 700,000 and the real increase over last year's figures is less than 100,000.