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It has long been recognized that the British unemployment figures presented monthly by the Department of Employment are biased downwards when compared with, say, the official U.S. data which are collected by a regular sample survey,[1] but in the 1966 Sample Census the unemployed in Britain were divided into those who registered at the exchanges, those who were sick and did not register, and those who did not register for other reasons. It is suggested here that the implication of the Census figures is that the dispersion of unemployment between different occupational, age and regional groups was, and almost certainly remains, less than is often believed. This paper will briefly examine the occupational, age and regional patterns in turn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to assess the adequacy of the British unemployment data in the light of these criteria, looking mainly at the period 1966-1970. It attempts both to define the main gaps and shortcomings in the evidence, and to present the record of change where the evidence is stronger.
The main weaknesses of the statistics are as follows: They have seriously underestimated the downturn in the labor market since 1966. They give a misleading picture of the industrial incidence of the fall in the demand for labor since 1966. Finally they do not give us information on unemployment rates by skill level, information needed because other evidence clearly shows that the specific unemployment rate for the unskilled is much higher than the general rate. After looking at other areas in which the data are stronger the paper closes with some suggestions for improving the statistics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 1962 manpower retraining facilities in the U.K. have increased almost fivefold and the government has recently announced a programme of expansion up to 1975 which will, if realized, far surpass this rate of growth.[1] This paper examines briefly the benefits that are likely to result from investment in manpower retraining. In particular, it stresses the need for flexibility and adaptability in the organization and management of a programme of manpower retraining. Against this background the U.K. system of Government Training Centres (G.T.C.s) is examined, and it is argued that there is a need for a considerable expansion in retraining effort--part of which, it is suggested, might be organized through the existing structure of the Industrial Training Boards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of which this paper is the first result set out to examine the process of labor market operations and redeployment in the West Midlands in the period 1966-68. Four areas were of particular interest. First, what actually caused the redundancies? Were the deflationary policies responsible for a cyclical increase in redundancies; were companies purposely cutting back overmanning in order to increase productivity; or were the redundancies a result of rationalization and 'normal' structural change? Secondly, how did companies manage the redundancies, in terms of the manpower policies they themselves used? Thirdly, how had redundant workers looked for work, how had they found work, what kind of jobs had they found, and how efficiently had they been redeployed? Fourthly, how effective had the various elements of Government manpower policy been in assisting workers to find new jobs?
A number of research methods were used, including interviews with companies and D.E.P. officials, and analysis of published data and data made available specially by the D.E.P. However the information presented here comes largely from a household survey of a sample of 658 male workers made redundant from 23 plants in the engineering and metal-using trades[2] during the period 1966-68. This paper analyses the results of this survey to assess the success and effectiveness of the Government employment service in dealing with redundant job-seekers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent paper, D. Gujarati (1972) examined registered unemployment and vacancies data for Great Britain 1958-1971. He reported that his empirical tests revealed a change in the unemployment--vacancies relationship (the UV curve) from 1966 (IV). This change was attributed to the introduction of the Redundancy Payments Act (1965) and the National Insurance Act (1966). This legislation, Gujarati felt, eased the financial pressure on an unemployed individual, allowing him to spend more time job-searching. A log-linear relationship between unemployment and vacancies was fitted up to 1966 (III): log U[sub t] = beta[sub 0] + beta[sub 1] log V[sub t] + beta[sub 2]t (1) where U = unemployment rate, V = vacancy rate and t = time. This UV curve was then extrapolated until 1971 (II) and the resultant predicted unemployment series was compared with the actual series. A "correcting factor" was computed to calculate "true" estimates of unemployment (i.e., what registered unemployment would have been, had the above legislation not been introduced). This note contains several comments which fall into two categories. The first concerns the specification of the UV curve and the statistical results obtained by Gujarati. The second concerns the economic interpretation of these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the occurrence of an upward shift in registered unemployment during 1967 and 1968 because of a shake-out of hoarded labor in Great Britain. The upward shift in the relationship is attributed entirely to an artificial increase in registered unemployment; the vacancy data are assumed to remain an efficient indicator of the number of unfilled jobs in the economy. In other words, it is asserted that the phenomenon has resulted solely from changes in the behavior of unemployed workers. It is also the aim of this paper to show that the internal structure of the unemployment gap changed markedly during 1967 and 1968, with the result that registered unemployment became an entirely unreliable indicator of the size of the unemployment gap.

BY implication, at least, the devaluation of sterling in November 1967 is considered by most British economic commentators to have been a success, since almost without exception they say that it should have taken place earlier. Certainly, the painful succession of payments deficits has been followed by a large and apparently continuing surplus on current account. Appearances, however, can be deceptive. If the surplus is large, so also is unemployment, and in mid-1971 some economists reckoned the "full employment" balance of payments surplus to be zero or negative. British exports did better than usual in 1968 and 1969, but in those years the volume of world trade in manufactures (specifically the total exports of manufactures from principal manufacturing countries) increased by 16 and 13% respectively in comparison with an annual average of 8-9% since the beginning of the decade. How much, then, of the very obvious swing in the balance of payments on current account which occurred between the periods preceding and following November 1967 can be attributed to devaluation, and how much is to be explained by other factors ?[1] This paper has limited objectives and it may help to define the area of the problems which are examined here by sketching first those aspects which will not be considered. They are of two rather different kinds. The first is that the sterling devaluation of November 1967 was a major economic event, at any rate for the British economy. Not only was it expected to have large consequences when it was announced, but in many ways it had cast its shadow before. The maintenance of the previous parity had been accompanied by frequent, and sometimes large, deficits in the balance of payments. Debts were incurred to central banks and to the International Monetary Fund. But the apparent failure significantly to alter the trend in the balance of payments increased, in the eyes of the market, the likelihood of eventual devaluation, and thus intensif... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts of articles about labor economics. It is argued that British regional unemployment is a compound of cyclical and structural elements and that long-term unemployment is increasing in severity and is linked to regional variations in labor market conditions. In the light of the statistical analysis conclusions are drawn for manpower policy. The discussion of manpower policy aimed at reducing structural imbalance in regional labor markets is limited to a critique of the advocacy of industry-location or of labor-mobility measures as general solutions. Some secular trends in labor mobility accompanying economic growth can be observed: sectoral mobility towards industries with a high degree of concentration and towards service industries, occupational mobility towards semi-skilled jobs of blue-collar workers and towards jobs of white-collar workers, at the same time a relative decline in the number of independently employed; geographical mobility towards centers of industrial, business and administrative activity, modified through intensified long-distance commuting. .

The article presents statistical information regarding industrial relations in Great Britain as of January-April 1973. The number of unemployed fell in all three months from January to March, falling below 700,000 for the first time since July 1971. On a seasonally adjusted basis, excluding school leavers and those temporarily stopped, unemployment fell by an average of 32000 per month in the three-month period January to March, compared with a monthly fall of 25,300 in the period November to January. Despite problems arising from discrepancies in the three alternative measures of gross domestic product, production as a whole appeared to be increasing at the planned rate of 5 per cent per annum between the second half of 1971 and the early months of 1973, with the rate of expansion of output accelerating towards the end of 1972. The number of working days lost through strike action in 1972 reached a record level of 239 million, the highest figure since 1926. This represents a 76 per cent increase on the 1971 figure of 136 million working days lost. The number of stoppages increased slightly, with 2,470 strikes in 1972 compared to 2,228 in 1971.

This article reports developments on industrial relations in Great Britain from September to December 1971. During this period, unemployment on a seasonally adjusted basis was higher than in the corresponding period of 1970. The principal increases were in the health service, paper and board making, electrical cable making and the motor vehicle retail and repair trades. There were increases in the prices of a wide range of household products, the rents of unfurnished dwellings, foodstuffs and of a number of other goods and services, but the rate of increase appeared to have begun to slow down. In spite of Government action to revive the economy the trend of industrial production remained sluggish.

The present dilemma facing economists concerning high levels of both wage inflation and unemployment in recent years has been approached, principally, by adapting conventional theory to a new set of circumstances. The dilemma exists primarily for those who view the present inflation as demand orientated, low aggregate demand being incompatible with high rates of increase in money wage rates or earnings. To those who believe that the inflation is cost rather than demand orientated, the dilemma is not so real. Presumably, strong pushfulness among trades unions in highly unionized industries might persist despite low demand conditions in the economy generally. One writer has gone as far as to suggest that union pushfulness may have been accentuated as a compensation for the creation of additional unemployment. The most obvious way employers can change their degree of use of existing labour in the short-run is through changes in overtime hours. It is the object of this paper to examine the meaning and the significance of changes in overtime hours when they are included in the analysis of wage inflation.

The purpose of this paper is to suggest an alternative theoretical framework to explain the Phillips curve relationship between the rate of change of money wages and the level of unemployment. It is an alternative to the theoretical model first proposed by R.G. Lipsey. Lipsey postulated an underlying adjustment mechanism relating the rate of change of money wage rates to the degree of excess demand for labour, and this has become the generally accepted way of explaining the Phillips curve relationship. Lipsey's approach has been subjected, however, to considerable criticism. There are several unsatisfactory aspects of the Lipsey excess demand theory. Firstly, it assumes that, since the dependent variable in the Phillips relationship is a rate of change, its explanation must involve us in the analysis of disequilibrium situations; situations of excess demand or supply. But it is not necessary to assume that a rate of change of wages is due to a dynamic disequilibrium situation in the labour market. It is perfectly feasible to use a dynamic theory of moving equilibrium, wages rising because the demand curve or the supply curve or both are continually shifting upwards.

Reductions in the hours of work have been a characteristic phenomenon of advancing industrialization and are generally regarded as a significant indicator of increases in social welfare. The movement of hours, however, has not been uniform through time or for workers in different countries, industries, and occupations. In this article, the author traces the course of British experience since the end of the nineteenth century. The main facets of hours legislation are outlined, and changes in both normal and actual hours and in the weekly distribution of shorter hours are examined in some detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the factors responsible for the apparent postwar change in the cyclical pattern of unemployment and wage inflation in Great Britain. The point of departure for the analysis of cyclical patterns is a model of the average coincident behaviour of unemployment and wage inflation comprising relations between each of these observed variables and an aggregate measure of excess demand for labour services. The theoretical concept of unemployment represents a flow of manhours, the difference between the man-hours of labour services supplied and the manhours of labour services actually worked. However, the measured unemployment statistics involves a stock of people, the difference between the number of people who are offering a positive amount of labour services and the number of people who are actually selling a positive amount of labour services. In particular, a person who is selling a positive amount of labour services, but less than his quantity offered, makes no contribution to the measured unemployment statistic. the discussion thus far has ignored the role of expectations regarding the rate of change of the market-clearing wage. However, such adjustment strategy seems appropriate only if market-clearing wages are not expected to change over time. If they are expected to change over time, plausible optimal adjustment policy would take account of this trend without waiting for it to add to the finite discrepancy between actual wages and market-clearing wages.

Reports on developments concerning industrial relations in Great Britain. Total number of unemployed as of December 1973; Indices of weekly and hourly wage rates and normal weekly hours; Level changes in industrial production.

The article presents information about the recent developments in industrial relations in Great Britain as of November 1973. The influx of students and school leavers into the labor market halted the recent persistent decline in the number of unemployed, with a rise of over 9,000 unemployed in July. On a seasonally adjusted basis, however, unemployment continued to decline although more slowly than in previous months. The general tightening of the labor market was reflected in the number of unfilled vacancies which continued to increase during the period under review, though at a slower rate than that of the first quarter. On a seasonally adjusted basis the number of vacancies increased on average by almost 17,000 per month during the period May to July 1973 compared with a monthly increase of 21,500 during the previous three-month period. The index of retail prices continued to rise during the period. During the period under review the rate of expansion of the economy, though still high by historical standards, appeared to be slowing down from its previously high level.

Rural depopulation is a world phenomenon associated with industrialization. A great many factors are involved. The standards of providing a variety of public utility services and extending social organizations in villages with persistently decreasing population are compared with those in villages of increasing population. The attitudes of residents in villages where population has persisted for a long time differ considerably from those of people of the "outside world," and in these villages little interest is taken in local government, education, or the organization of local social activities. Employer-employee relationships are often strained. Many reasons contribute to the initial decision to leave the home in the country. No nation in the world has a higher proportion of paid workers in agriculture than the United Kingdom. This gives workers greater mobility and, since there are fewer owner-occupied holdings, less chance of promotion. Once emigration has begun, it tends to generate its own momentum-fewer people can support fewer services, and fewer services will tend to make the area less attractive. Mechanization would have created unemployment without the substantial rural depopulation, but the rate of loss today is felt to be out of proportion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines reasons behind unemployment problem since World War II in Great Britain. Effect of Keynesian revolution on employment; Comparison between post-war period and inter-war period employment; Factor affecting demand of employment in the post-war period.

The article presents information on the social policy of Great Britain before 1914. The prevalent assumption among historians is that in Britain before 1914 the approach to social policy was overwhelmingly empirical. This empiricism is seen to rest on a tradition of the disinterested study of the causes of poverty formed in the nineteenth century mainly by Charles Booth, or possibly to a lesser extent by the earlier work of Sir John Simon and other administrators of his generation. This article is intended as a contribution to a necessary revaluation of the climate of opinion in which the great social legislation of the 1905 Liberal government occurred. It is concerned with one aspect of Charles Booth's work, his ideas on unemployment which became briefly fashionable although they had little impact on policy. More generally, it is an attempt to describe and explain some of the neglected moral assumptions behind the discussion of policy. Booth and his followers were empirical in their careful study of all the available evidence, especially statistical, on the causes of poverty. But their investigations were influenced by certain prevalent ideas, particularly by a concern for the effects of policy on the character of those whom it relieved, and, among other things, this led them to make a strong distinction between unemployment among the skilled and the unskilled workers.

The article examines the unemployment rate in Great Britain between World Wars I and II. In some ways the Second World War involved a more extensive dislocation than occurred in 1914. There was relatively less unemployment in pre-1914 Britain than in the period between wars, but the outbreak of World War I created a much more serious initial disturbance than was felt in 1939 and 1940. Groups felt the initial impact of the new war, which ordinarily had been most immune to unemployment. Workers in the prosperous areas, uninsured trades and consumers' industries showed the highest loss of jobs. The evidence points to a higher level of unemployment among uninsured persons than among insured workers, not just at the beginning of the war, but through the first two years. The rise in unemployment among the uninsured was not entirely due to dislocation of jobs; new entrants to the labor market who applied for jobs at exchanges would be classified as uninsured unemployed.

The article focuses on the problem of unemployment and measures taken to resolve it. Applicants of assistance to charity organization societies in England and the U.S. prefer occupation rather than relief. Charitable provision of work provided to the unemployed includes, transitory provision of work, education to the unemployed for regular self retaining existence, and the isolation of the poor class from the competitive industries of the time. Ommerschans and Veenhuizen are largest of the beggar colonies established in 1820.

The article examines unemployment data over the period 1966-70 in Great Britain. The Department of Employment counts as unemployed all those who register at the Labour Exchanges for work. This might be regarded as a specific and stringent test for job-search. It is probably not appropriately so regarded for two reasons. First, as a source of information on available job opportunities the Exchanges are far from perfect. Many of those in the penumbra of the labour force, with special requirements and low incentive will not find the information they require there and will not register. But also those who are well informed of the job opportunities in their field, including many primary workers actively seeking work will not expect that the exchange can add to their information and will not register. Second, registration is a requirement for unemployment benefit and many register in order to receive benefit not to find jobs. Again the penumbra, the authors call these the marginal workers who will by and large not qualify and will not register.

Presents several development on industrial relations in Great Britain as of September to December 1972. Changes in the unemployment rate; Increase in wages; Rise in industrial production.

The article presents a chronicle of the industrial relations scene in Great Britain from January 1972 to April 1972. In January 1972 total registered unemployed in the country exceeded one million. For Great Britain alone, the February figure was inflated as a result of lay-offs in industry due to the power shortage caused by the miners' strike. In the early part of 1972 the number of unfilled vacancies showed a sharp rise relative to the last months of 1971. During 1971 the Index of Retail Prices rose by 12 points compared with 11.5 for 1970. The second half of 1971 saw a marked fall in the rate of increase of the Index, and this trend continued into early 1972. 1971 saw a significant drop in the number of strikes but a large rise in the number of working days lost relative to 1970. Comparing the two years there was little change in the number of workers involved. The Government's main aim in economic policy continued to be a reduction in the rate of inflation and an increase in the rate of economic growth.

Presents several developments on industrial relations in Great Britain as of August to December 1967. Effects of devaluation on unemployment trends; Information that the Electricity Council had offered a 3 per cent rise, further increases to be allowed once the rise in productivity had been assessed; Changes in the incomes policy; Relaxation in hire purchase controls of consumer goods; Formation of a formal national joint council for engineering with an independent chairman to deal with these national negotiations and possibly to help conciliate in disputes.

Focuses on the influence of deflationary measures on the climate of industrial relations in Great Britain. Decline in unemployment; Increase of the retail prices; Disputes in the motor industry.