ABSTRACT
Between the two wars, from 1921 to 1938, the unemployment rate in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, that is to say the percentage unemployed among persons insured against unemployment, averaged 14.2. In the best year, 1927, the rate was just under 10, representing about 1,100,000 persons unemployed; in the worst year, 1932, the rate was just over 22, representing over 2,800,000 persons unemployed. An unemployment rate of about 14 means that between the wars only 86 persons on an average out of every 100 persons seeking employment were able to get employment. Remedy of any evil must be preceded by diagnosis, by discovery of its nature and its causes. If in any community the demand for labour is normally less than enough to employ the available labour, that means that the community normally does not spend enough.
