UNEMPLOYED FIGURES

Waikato Times, Volume 122, Issue 20494, 10 May 1938, Page 9

UNEMPLOYED FIGURES

CHALLENGE TO MR BAVAGE WHY IS TAXATION CONTINUED? (By Telegram.—Press Association) WELLINGTON, Tuesday The unemployment figures recently given by the Prime Minister were chal- | lenged by the Leader of the Opposij tion, the Hon. A. Hamilton, in his speech last evening. | “Of the 54,500 stated by Mr Savage ; as being unemployed, no fewer than ; 22,510 were not unemployed at all, ; but were in full time employment in I industry and wefc not registered as i unemployed at all,” said Mr Hamilton. I ”lt is difficult to believe that such an ! important omission could be accidental.” j “Mr Savage would have us believe jthat there were only 6695 unemployed jin New Zealand to-day. The last I occasion when the full figures were 1 shown was in the Monthly Abstract jof Statistics of December 22, 1937, i which disclosed that 36,450 persons | were receiving payment from the Un- ! employment Fund, and of these 18,110 ! were receiving sustenance without doting a hand’s turn. In addition to all j this, the Public Works have—in these 1 times of great prosperity and high j prices—a record number of em- ( j ployees, totalling, according to the j latest official statement, 20,205—which J is 7000 more than when Labour came j into office. Furthermore, there are ! 10,000 more in the various Governj ment departments than when Labour came into office. -If unempolyment is so slight toI day, one is naturally prompted to ask I why is it- necessary to extract over £5,000,000 from tiie wages and incomes of the people, to relieve a problem that —according to the Prime Minister —lias already been solved? The answer, of course, is that the problem lias not been solved, and that is why the Government is determined to hide the correct figures,” added tiie speaker.