REPORT. 
To the Right Honourable Sir ARTHUR STEEL-MATTLAND, Bart., M.P. 
SIR, 
L. We were appointed by your Minute of 6th January, 1928, 
“for the purpose of facilitating the transfer of workers, and in 
particular of miners, for whom opportunities of employment in 
their own district or occupation are no longer available.” 
I. INTRODUCTORY. 
2. The unemployment situation which we have had to consider 
has not arisen suddenly nor is it peculiar to this country. There 
was unemployment before the war, though exact comparison with 
post-war experience is not possible owing to the absence of full 
statistics for the earlier period. In 1907-8 unemployment in some 
of the heavy industries reached figures comparable with those with 
which we are now familiar, and was experienced in most trades. 
But it was more evenly distributed, its period of intensity was 
relatively short and recovery from it was general. After the 
war there was a trade ‘‘ boom,” but in 1921 there succeeded an 
intense industrial depression affecting all industries at first, and 
continuing, with fluctuations, in several important industries up 
fo the present time. The figures of unemployed persons on the 
records of the Ministry of Labour have varied between 2,558,000 
in May, 1921, and 978,000 in May, 1927. 
3. The present situation differs in many important particulars 
from previous ‘‘ slumps.” On the one hand, there is active pro- 
gress among a large range of non-basic industries, even although 
trading conditions for these are difficult. Moreover, development 
in industry is tending to spread more and more widely over the 
ountry as communications improve and electric power comes into 
greater use. On the other hand, employment in some of the basic 
industries tends to become less and less regular. None the less, 
these are the industries which must continue to play a dominant 
part in our economic life. They are essential to our economic 
stability. But we are not entitled to expect them to play as im- 
portant a part in affording opportunities for heavy manual labour 
in the future as they have plaved in the past. 
4. It is important to remember these parallel tendencies, for 
an appreciation of them is fundamental to an understanding both 
9994 
Ag