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4
In the aircraft industry the industrial picture was on the
whole not so gloomy as the general picture. The decision to proceed
with the manufacture of nine P1127 vertical take-off and landing
aircraft produced increasing demands for skilled workers in specialised
occupations. Recruitment of such workers was undertaken from all parts
of the country and several workers coming to work in the Kingston area
were paid allowances towards the cost of their lodgings under the
Ministry of Labour Transfer Schemes.
The retail trade in Kingston continued at a prosperous level
and many firms introduced self-service facilities. There is always a
high unsatisfied demand for women shop assistants and self-service
arrangements do much to overcome the shortage.
It is perhaps unwise to attempt to make any predictions about
the employment position for 1963. It is probable that unemployment
registers will be at a generally higher level than for some years past
but I think it is safe to say that if there is a general improvement
in the national economic position then Kingston, because of the diversity
of its industry, will have a large share in any such improvement."
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 population 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 faster is unity).
The comparability factors for Kingston-upon-Thames are
Births 1.00; Deaths 0.88.
The birth and death rates in respect of the town are shown
over-leaf and for the purpose of providing some comparison the rates
for England and Wales are also shown.