[Report 1934] / Medical Officer of Health, Worcestershire / County of Worcester County Council.

  • Worcestershire (England). County Council.
Date:
1934
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1934] / Medical Officer of Health, Worcestershire / County of Worcester County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    6. Apart from Infectious Diseases referred to later there has been no sickness or invalidity of note. Social Conditions. Unemployment. 7. Information on this point has been obtained through the courtesy of the Managers of the several Employment Exchanges in the County whose combined areas approximate the administra¬ tive County of Worcester. A slight overlapping of Local Govern¬ ment boundaries occurs but the figures are sufficiently accurate to demonstrate the improving position as regards employment in this County. 8. The County Accountant has provided me with a Table of comparative monthly figures for the six sub-divisions of the County. These figures show that there has been a substantial reduction in the numbers of unemployed persons for these six areas during the years 1933 and 1934. The 1934 figure for the whole County area represents a reduction of 19% on the figure for 1933 and 47% for the year 1932. 9. The diversity of trades followed by the inhabitants of the County has been commented upon in previous reports. Carpets, chemicals, needles, iron and enamel ware and specialised forms of agriculture such as market gardening, fruit growing and canning are examples of the varieties of trades and occupations in which the people are engaged. 10. Whilst unemployment has been and still is a serious problem in this County the varieties of trades provide a safeguard against catastrophes resulting when the main trade of a locality fails, as experienced by the distressed areas of the Country. 11. The improvement in industry has a most important bearing upon the social well-being of the area, and coupled with active efforts now being made to improve the housing in both Urban and Rural areas, presents a more favourable outlook than that of recent years. 12. There is no evidence that any particular trade is specially detrimental to health, but the rather high incidence of Tuberculosis in Kidderminster is being kept under review. 13. In Kidderminster and Redditch the demand for female labour is exceptionally heavy and in this latter area the increase in employment of married women is given as an explanation of the smaller attendances recorded at Infant Welfare Centres.