British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume I - Page 509

CHAPTER XIII.

(October 1938 - September 1939 = 100)
1939 1940 1941 1942 1943
Number of persons in
employment 100 108 129 163 191
Number of man-days
worked 99 108 135 175 211
The elasticity of the Jewish labour force is revealed by this marked increase in employment, notwithstanding the fact that the growth in population during the period did not keep pace and that men and women were serving in the armed forces. The greater rise in the number of man-days worked than in the personnel employed is attributable to the higher intensity of operations, i.e. overtime Work.

114. From Government sources it is possible to compile an index of the volume of employment in manufacturing for all communities:-

1939

1942

1943

1944

1945

100

200

214

209

221

From this table it can be seen that there has been a steep increase (121 %) in the six year period of the war.

115. There has been a shift in the size of the industrial unit.

Large scale undertakings (that is employing more than 50 persons) accounted for 50% of the total, employment in 1943 as compared with only 35 % in 1937. A Jewish Agency survey in 1942 classifying 1,867 factories, engaged in all branches of industry, revealed that 239 factories employed more than 30 workers; 921 employed from 5 to 30 workers; and 707 employed less than 5 workers. About 75% of these factories were established before the outbreak of the war.

SKILLED TRADESMEN.

116. A survey of skilled tradesmen was conducted by the Department of Statistics in the year 1943. The survey covered five different employing groups, viz :-

i) Government workshops

ii) Workshops of His Majesty's Forces

iii) Electricity supply and mineral oils

iv) Arab and other non-Jewish workshops v) Jewish factories and workshops.

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