3

REGISTERS  OF  LABOUR  BUREAUX

33

centres  from  which  the  figures  are  drawn  are  not  enough
to  prevent  the  effects  of  one  or  two  special  local  disturbances ­
  of  industry  from  exercising  an  undue  influence
upon  the  results,  considered  as  indicative  of  general
conditions  of  trade.
The  totals  seem  to  conform  very  closely  to  the  general
law  that  employment  is  better  in  the  summer  than  in
the  winter  months  in  the  case  of  men.  The  statistics  of
women  are  so  slight  and  irregular  as  to  have  little  value.
It  will  be  observed  that  the  building  trades  and
general  labourers  furnish  nearly  half  the  total  of  unemployed ­
  men,  but  that  they  are  closely  followed  by  the
town  “transport”  trades:  carmen,  stablemen,  horsemen
porters  and  messengers  forming  a  significant  feature  in
the  list.  The  figures,  however,  considered  as  representative
of  the  “unemployed,”  in  the  several  trades,  are  vitiated
by  various  considerations.  Members  of  skilled  trades
would  seldom  place  themselves  upon  the  Bureaux  registers,
preferring  to  seek  work  through  their  business  or  by
personal  application  at  known  quarters.  Many  skilled
workmen,  clerks  and  others,  would  not  care  to  publicly
register  themselves  as  unemployed.  Charwomen  and
other  day  workers  will  often  use  the  Labour  Bureaux  as
a  means  of  enlarging  their  connection,  misrepresenting
the  extent  of  their  “  unemployment  ”  for  this  purpose.
"I  he  workers  in  irregular  trades  of  the  home  or  small
workshop  will  rarely  know  the  existence  of  Labour
Bureaux.  This  will  possibly  account  for  the  small  number
of  men  and  women  belonging  to  the  clothing  trades  who
appear  on  the  registers.  Knowledge  or  ignorance  of  the
existence,  purpose,  or  value  of  the  Labour  Bureaux,  willingness ­
  or  unwillingness  to  publicly  acknowledge  them-