524 
It is evident that in such, circumstances the length of this qualifying period is of 
no small importance. In 1906, the large union of metal workers of Stuttgart showed an 
increase of over 42 per cent, over the previous year. Thus 30 per cent, certainly, 
and probably a larger proportion, had been members for less than a year, which is, 
in this case, the qualifying period ; and other unions show similarly large figures of 
members whose claim to benefit has not yet matured. During the period of rapid growth 
through which the German unions have recently been passing, a large proportion of their 
members will have had but little interest in recording unemployment on their part. The 
fact, too, that there has, in some cases, been, not only a large accession of members, but 
large losses, and losses largely of recently joined members, means that a considerable 
number of the nominal membership have not been at any time qualified to claim 
unemployed benefit. 
All these considerations suggest doubt as to the completeness of the data from which 
the German records of unemployment have been computed at all events in the past. 
Even were they complete, it has been shown above that they could not be brought into 
direct comparison with the British figures. The movements of each set of figures over a 
period of time furnish an index, more or less complete, to the fluctuations of employment 
within the country concerned, but, however useful the comparison of the figures for each 
country at different times may be, the comparison of the figures for the two countries 
at the same time cannot, unfortunately, yield any trustworthy basis for comparing or 
contrasting the degrees of continuity of employment prevailing in these countries.