253 1938 UNEMPLOYMENT IN NEW ZEALAND

over the next three years mould average E30m. per annum, or about four per cent. of the national income. Some comfort may be derived from a consideration of the current expenditure of the larger powers, which, according to Mr. Colin Clark, is as follows : Great Britain, 6 per cent. ; Australia, 1 per cent. ; United States of America, 2 per cent.; France, 12 per cent.; Japan, 12 per cent. ; Germany, 16 per cent. ; Russia, 20 per cent. j Italy, 21 per cent. Nevertheless, the effect of this expenditure upon the character of output, upon prices, upon public works expenditure and upon Commonwealth and State relations would obviously be outstanding in importance. G. PACKER.

Nel b ourne.

UNEMPLOYMENT IN NEW ZEALAND’

This report contains two features of some interest: an out- line of the government’s unemployment policy, and a consider- able amount of statistical material. Unemployment policy has been undergoing a widespread overhaul as the result of the experience of the last few years. It is being realized that it is insufficient for governments simply to provide relief for Unem- ployed men, and that they must take more positive steps to get them back into regular employment. In this i t appears that the New Zealand Government is a good way ahead of Australian Governments, for this report clearly states a policy which has not been given any official recognition here yet.

The policy is one of the “promotion of employment’’ by grants and loans to industries which are considered economically sound and able to absorb more workers, and by providing as much full time work a t standard rates as possible for those in the direct care of the state until they can be absorbed elsewhere. The first part of the policy is a form ofmxtectina and if used to a considerable degree will have to be watched to see that it does not defeat its own ends, t o some extent, by raising costs. Statistics given of the distribution of this assistance are not full, but it appears that a considerable part went last year to farmers in flood-damaged areas and to other primary producers whose crops had suffered damage, but that it was not employed as a measure of general protection.

Most important is the policy adopted towards the unem- ployed in the-direct care- of the state. One or two extracts from the report will illustrate this clearly. On page 9 we read:

1. Report of the Secretary of Labour. New Zealand, upon activities and proceedings under the Employment Promotion Act, 1936.

254 THE ECONOMIC RECORD DEC.

“Until absorption is fully achieved the state is faced with the problem how best to retain the faculty and ability of the fit worker. Past experience has shown that the payment of susten- ance for lengthy periods not only destroys the ability to work, but gradually diminishes the desire to obtain employment. ’ ’ The policy is then explained whereby subsidies are made t o local bodies to enable them to employ men full time and at as near as possible to a full wage. It is further stated on page 10: “ I n carrying out the programme of financing full time works i t has been necessary to ensure that employment can be found, suitable in place and character, to the class of unemployed labour in view. ” These are important principles and if applied thoroughly should prevent the waste which arises from men frittering away their energy and skill on futile “relief” occupations. About E1.5m. was spent in the promotion of this full time employment in 1937-38. Men so employed are excluded from the unemploy- men t figures.

The report also attacks the idea that the only “productive” public works are those which yield a direct revenue. It is pointed out that things like swimming baths and cemeteries ( !) are valuable social amenities and so productive in a very real way and, especially when their production can be used t o relieve unemployment, should be undertaken on a wide scale. “The social evil of unemployment is such that it is better to employ men in non-profit earning but economic ventures of this kind than not to employ them a t all.” That is putting it mildly.

This policy, it will be recognized, is a considerable advance on the traditional attitudes of governments in Australia and elsewhere of regarding the unemployed as a product of conditions which will eventually pass and automatically provide employ- ment again. It is becoming clearer every day that the state must treat unemployment as a problem to be attacked by a positive policy of re-employment. In Victoria a start has been made, modelled on a New Zealand scheme, by securing full details of the regular occupations of the unemployed and their suitability for work with the object of placing them in suitable positions. We still have to remodel our relief work system t o make it a training and preservation system instead of a stop- gap. For New Zealand, it now remains to be seen how thoroughly their principles will be carried out.

The sjatistics given in the appendix are very comprehensive compared with what we are accustomed to with unemployment- figures, but there are still some important gaps. The number of

1938 UNEMPLOYMENT IN NEW ZEALAND 255

“fit men” unemployed at June 4, 1938, is given as 8,721. This is very low even when we consider that it is only those registered with the government for sustenance and relief work. No indica- tion is given of how many might not be registered. It could be as many again and still give a low figure in comparison with Victoria which at that time had about 20,000 registered unem- ployed and another 10,000, we can safely say, unregistered. Eight thousand additional men are given as unemployed because of illness or other reasons. This makes a total of nearly 17,000 receiving government assistance. No indication of the number on full time subsidized employment is given, which we would like to know. The results of the government’s “Placement Service,” however, are given. For fourteen months, 1937-38, 18,000 permanent positioiis (over three months) were filled, pIus about 33,000 temporary and casual positions. The same individual may have been placed several times during the year in these figures, but the results are very good for a new scheme, an average of 3,700 placements per month.

Statistics of the age and occupational distributions of the unemployed and the duration of unemployment are also given, which is a feature of considerable value. Thirty per cent. are shown as having been unemployed under six months. This is a greater percentage for this group than with the registered unemployed in Victoria. Perhaps it indicates a greater readiness to register in New Zealand. However, the table does not tell us from what period of employment the duration is measured, whether the last job of a week or a day. An alteration in this might change such a table considerably. The standard taken certainly should be indicated because it affects considerably the usefulness of the table. The age distribution given shows a higher concentration than usual in the older age groups. This might be caused by the inclusion of those unemployed through sickness and infirmity. When this group forms such a high proportion of the total a separate table for the “fit” unemployed ought really to be given.

The occupational distribution is given in industrial groups and contains very little information about degrees of skill. The industrial classification is comprehensive enough for general purposes, being under twenty-two main headings, but a summary table in, say, six o r seven headings, showing degrees of skill and types of occupations, clerical or factory process, for example, would improve this section. We want to know not only the number of workers employed in “Building and Construction,”

256 THE ECONOMIC RECORD DEC.

but also whether the carpenters or the builders’ labourers are unemployed. Many individuals, like general labourers, cannot be classed correctly in industrial groups because they move from one to the other. Some might work in “Food, Drink and Tobacco” one week and “Transport and Communication” the next. Separate summary tables in industrial and occupational divisions are preferable to the attempt t o include both in one.

E. E. WARD. Univ ersit lj of Melbourne.

TRANSPORT IN GREAT BRITAIN1

This is the report of a Committee, appointed by the Commonwealth in 1936, to study the co-ordination of transport services in Great Britain, including co-ordination undertaken “by the transport agencies themselves” as well as Government action.

The Committee have made a thorough study of the relevant legislation and official documents. In addition they have had the advantage of personal interviews with civil servants and transport officers. Such a method of enquiry was doubtless the only one available to the Committee in the time available at their disposal, but the inevitable consequence is a tendency to stress the legalistic and formal side of administrative arrangements, and, more serious, a too exclusive regard for the official point of view. This is very evident in their discussion of civil aviation, which reproduces the official complacency more faithfully than would seem to be justified by recent revelations. Within these limits the report is full and informative, particularly with reference to institutions such as the Ministry of Transport, the Road Traffic Commissioners and the London Passenger Trans- port Board.

The term “Co-ordination of Transport” as used by the Committee really embraces two distinct problems. The hst problem is that of mutually adjusting the interests of transport agencies competing for the same traffic in the same area. The post-war development of road and air transport has made this problem acute everywhere. In Britain, owing to the short distances, civil aviation has not assumed the same relative importance as in Australia, but on the other hand, road trans- port has been more extensively developed. This report conveys little idea of how highly developed and organized the road

1. Report of Committee appointed to investigate Transport in Great Britain (Government Printer, Canberra).