Table showing Annual Average number of Daily-Paid Workers Employed By The Army And Certain Government Departments. General Unemployment in Palestine before 1948 (Nakba), British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume II - Page 733. Section 1: Employment and Unemployment

CHAPTER XVII.

5. The largest single employers of labour in recent years have been the Army and the Government Departments of Public Works, Railways and Posts and Telegraphs.

ANNUAL, AVERAGE NUMBER OF DAILY-PAID WORKERS EMPLOYED BY THE AR11Y AND CERTAIN GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS.


1940 11941 1942 1943 1944 1 {Average


Army 15,998 11

Public Works

Department 4,254 7,248 7,188 4,556 3,256 3,294

Palestine

Railways I 2,201 I 2,9981 4,863 I 3,620 I 3,241 12,764

Posts, Telegraphs !

and Telephones 730l 869 1,11611,139 i 1,008 1,142

Unemployment.

6. There exists no official machinery for the registration of unemployed workers or for the collection of statistics of unemployment. However, some indication of the state of employment and unemployment can be derived from the following sources :-

(a) Statistics of employment collected and compiled by the Department of Statistics;

(b) Records of registration of applicants for work with the Joint Jewish Labour Exchange which claim a coverage of not less than 80% of the Jewish labour force.

7. In 1938, 1939 and 1940 the then prevailing depression in building activities and the cessation of citrus exports caused large scale unemployment. During the subsequent years, owing to enlistments, employment of labour by the military authorities, reduction of imports and the expansion pf local industries, the state of almost full employment has persisted and shortage of labour has been in evidence. In 1944 and 1945 the volume of employment with the military authorities and in some branches of manufacturing industry has declined, but the workers released have been quickly re-absorbed in other employments.

8. The following figures showing the average daily registration of applicants for work with the Jewish Labour Exchanges in , July in each year from 1938 to 1945 inclusive are illustrative :-

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