The number of persons registered as unemployed in Great
read Britain fell from 376,000 at 10th January, 1949, to 243,000 on 11th July. There was a rise to 268,000 at 12th September due partly to the number of children who had left school in the summer and were still seeking employment. The number of males (including casuals) who had been wholly unemployed for more than eight weeks fell further to 90,100 at 12th September, and the number of females who had been out of work for the same period to 16,700. The count of persons registered as unemployed on 10th October gave a provisional figure of 300,000-a rise of 32,000 on the figure for September.
II.-Production
3. The index of total industrial production (1946-100) for July and August, taken together, declined seasonally to 118, but this was still 7 points higher than the average for July and August of last year. This rate of improve- ment over last year has been steadily maintained since February, and there is so far no suggestion of any falling-off in the rising trend of production.
4. Building work has been maintained at a higher level this summer although the labour force was slightly lower than in the summer of 1948. The index for building and contracting rose to 131 in each of the three months May, June and July compared with an average of 124 in the same three months of 1948.
Interim Index of Industrial Production
(Average 1946
100)
All industries
Manufacturing industries
Points
1947-48 1948-49
increase
1947-48
1948-49
Points increase
3rd Quarter
109
115
6
110
118
8
October and November
121
127
6
122
129
December and January
117
123
7
117
125
February
123
131
7
124
133
March and April
121
128
7
123
131
769∞
8
8
May and June
120
132
12
123
136
13
July and August
111
118
7
113
121
8
Coal
5. The seasonal rise in coal production, which usually takes place after the August holidays, has now begun and the output of deep-mined coal rose to 4.16 million tons in each of the last two weeks of October. The weekly rate of output in September was 3-2 per cent. greater than in September 1948. Total production of deep-mined coal in the 43 weeks ended 22nd October was 2.6 per cent. above output in the corresponding period of 1948 but 1.1 per cent. below the target for the period. To achieve the target of 204 million tons for 1949, output during the remaining 9 weeks of this year would have to increase to an average of 4.26 million tons a week or 8.5 per cent. more than the rate of output in the last 9 weeks of 1948.
Output of Deep-mined Coal
(Weekly averages)
1947-48
1948-49
Change
Thousand
Thousand
Per
tons
tons
cent.
November
4,000
4,094
December and January
+2.4
3,769
3,864
+2.5
February..
3,915
4,092
+4.5
March and April
3,775
3,927
+4·0
May and June
3,810
3,877
+1.8
July and August
3,299
3,366
+2.0
September
3,842
3,966
+3.2
October ...
4,002
4,116
+2.8
6. The number of workers on the colliery books has fallen sharply from 727,000 in March to 709,500 in the third week in October. This has been due to a reduction in the number of trainees entering the industry, a fall in the inflow from other industries and the maintenance at a high level of the outflow of workers from mining of other industries. The number of face workers or the colliery books has also been falling and in the third week of October was below the level in October 1948.
3
272
7. Absence from work rose to 13 66 per cent. in August, but declined to
13.66 12.37 •centage the first three weeks of October, compok 42 10 ver cent. in October 1948. The total number of shifts worked has been lower than last year and the increase in rate of production has been due to the higher output per manshift.
Iron and Steel
8. The output of steel ingots and castings rose after the holidays to 306,000 tons a week in September. Total production for the first nine months amounted to 11 59 million tons-4 per cent. more than in the same period of last year.
9. Stocks of pig iron rose further to 737,000 tons at the end of September from the low level of 434,000 tons in April and stocks of scrap rose to 805.000 tons. Stocks of imported iron ore have been increasing rapidly and at the end of Sep- tember were 23 per cent. greater than at September 1948.
Textiles
Textile production in August was affected by the holidays. The output of worsted yarn and of wool, cotton and rayon fabrics was again below the
targets.
C
11. The weight of cotton yarn spun recovered from a weekly average of 17.95 million lb. in August to 20 3 million lb. in the first three weeks of October, but this still fell short of the target of 21 9 million lb. a week for the month...........
12. Output of rayon yarn and staple fibre in August amounted to 21 7 million lb. This was 34 per cent. greater than in August 1948.
Motor Vehicles
13. Output of passenger cars attained a new record level of 8,722 a week during September. The number produced for the home market rose to 3,513, a week and the number produced for the export market (5,209 a week) though greater than in April, was less than in May and in March of this year.
T
14. The value of exports of passenger cars to Canada rose steadily from £306,000 in January to £1,056,000 in July, but fell back to £652,000 in August and £630,000 in September. Exports to the United States have been below £100,000 a month since April:
Exports of all Passenger Cars (including Chassis)
(Monthly averages or calendar months)
Total to all
£ thousand
To
countries
United States
To Canada
1948 1st Quarter
4,575
286
52
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
5,582
360
251
4,697
593
433
4th Quarter.
5,233
634
460
1949 1st Quarter
•
5,334
205
382
2nd Quarter
5,677
78.
629
July August
5,782
62
1,056
4,145
44
652
September...
...
6,876
64
630
15. Production of commercial vehicles also reached a new record level of 4,505 a week in September. Of these 2,213 were produced for export: this exceeds the previous record of 2,129 a week in March.
Merchant Shipbuilding
16. The tonnage of merchant vessels under construction, which reached a post-war peak of 2,073,000 tons in June 1948, declined to 1,874,000 tons in July 1949, but rose to 1,950,000 tons in September. New vessels laid down have risen from an average of 83,000 tons a month in the first quarter of 1949 to an average of 114,000 tons a month in each of the second and third quarters. New vessels laid down against export orders have risen more sharply from an average of
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