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3
The improvement in the general employment situation is
reflected in the number of notified vacancies unfilled at the
end of the year, These were 448 for men and 393 for women,
covering a wide range of occupations and industries, A year
earlier there were only 260 unfilled vacancies for men and 229
for women,, Skilled male workers in the engineering and electronics
industries continued in short supply and amongst women
there were shortages of experienced office workers and shop
assistants,, The ratio of unfilled vacancies to unemployed
workers, which stood at .8 in December 1958, has thus risen to
1.9 a most gratifying improvement.
During 1959 the Employment Exchange continued to carry
out its specialist services for-
assisting men and women seeking professionals,
managerial or executive posts and employers with
such vacancies to fill;
the rehabilitation and resettlement of disabled
persons;
the resettlement in civilian life of officers and
men leaving all branches of K.M, Forces,
It is evident that in 1959 Kingston enjoyed a period of
increasing activity, more than, seemed likely when the year
began. Persons leaving employments for one reason or another,
generally obtained alternative work with little difficulty.
The percentage of unemployment locally fell from .68 to .5,
and is almost negligible when compared with the national
figure of 2%. The prospect for 1960 can, I feel, be regarded
as hopeful, though the full effect of Government policy in
some directions - for example, the policy of encouraging continued
amalgamation of companies in the aircraft industry
cannot yet be assessed. There is every reason to suppose,
however, that Kingston will continue to share fully in the
nationally improved position which became apparent in 1959
3. Extracts from Vital Statistics of the Year,
The crude birth and death rates for local areas
cannot properly be compared by reason of the fact that the
populations on which they are based may be of widely differing
sex and age constitutions. Consequently the Registrar
General provides a comparability factor for each area. When
the crude rate of any area is multiplied by this factor an
adjusted rate is produced which can be used to compare with
the adjusted rate of any other area, or with the crude rate
for England and Wales as a whole (where the comparability
factor is unity).
The comparability factors for Kingston-upon-Thames
are Births 0.971 Deaths 0.91.
The birth and death rates in respect of the town
are shown overleaf and for the purpose of providing some
comparison the rates for England and Wales are also shown.