asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state what was the total saving to the Unemployment Assistance Fund arising out of the making of the Employment Period Orders for 1936.
Written Answer. - Employment Period Orders.
Owing to the fact that it cannot be stated how many of the persons affected by the Employment Period Orders would have continued to receive unemployment assistance and how long they would have continued to receive it if such Orders were not in operation it is not possible to say to what extent these Orders affected expenditure on unemployment assistance. I can state that in the period from the 3rd February, 1936, to the 7th September the number of persons registered decreased by 79,332 or about 50 per cent. of the total live register whereas the total number of persons refused payment of assistance by reason of the Employment Period Orders operating during that period was only 40,297. These figures indicate considerable expansion of opportunity for employment in which no doubt the persons affected by the Employment Period Orders participated and to that extent would not have been in receipt of unemployment assistance even if those Orders had not been in force.