TÖÖPUUDUSEST EESTI VABARIIGIS AASTAIL 1918-1940

Unemployment in the Republic of Estonia 1918-1940

Maie Pihlamägi

《Acta Historica Tallinnensia》 10卷1期 (2006/12) Pp. 121-141

並列摘要

Unemployment emerged as an economic and social phenomenon along with industrialization. Before World War I unemployment was already known in every capitalist country, including tsarist Russia. As the number of unemployed persons was quite small, the central government did not pay attention to this problem. Only some local municipalities in Finland, Latvia and Estonia took initiative and established labour exchanges to help find employment. The legal organization of labour exchanges was introduced in 1917, when a decree to this effect was passed. Labour exchanges were run by the municipalities under the supervision and financing of the government. Registration at the labour exchanges was voluntary.
At the end of 1919 there were six municipal labour exchanges in Estonia, by 1929 their number increased to fifteen. During the next four years the number of labour exchanges doubled. After the reorganization under the new labour exchange law of 1934, only 17 from 31 labour exchanges continued operate, all in towns. In addition to the municipal labour exchanges, in the 1920s three and in the 1930s six private employment agencies operated for finding employment for domestic servants.
In the first post-war years the number of registered unemployed persons fluctuated around an annual average of 800–900. The unemployment figure soared at the end of 1923 and in a short time unemployment became widespread mostly because of economic crises. Also the established unemployment aid system was responsible for the rise in the number of registered unemployed persons at the labour exchanges in 1924. Until the world economic depression the labour market was relatively stable. The number of newly registered unemployed persons at the municipal labour exchanges averaged 2000-3000 per month. As seasonal fluctuations were characteristic of employment conditions in Estonia, unemployment increased during the winter months and decreased in summer months.
Profound changes took place in the economic system of Estonia during the second half of the 1930s. The first effect of the intensive growth of industry and agriculture was a rapid increase in the demand for labour. It led to full employment in 1936. The situation continued unchanged through 1937 into 1939 until World War Ⅱ.
The Estonian statistics determined unemployment according the registered unemployed at the labour exchanges. The problem was that statistics was incomplete; still these figures indicated the general trend. Not more than 30% of the unemployed persons registered themselves at the labour exchanges because the possibilities of finding a permanent job through the exchanges were very small indeed. The censuses of 1922 and 1934 gave the actual number of unemployed persons. According to the 1922 census there were 12 000 unemployed persons or 2.7% among the economically active persons. The figures for 1934 were 41 000 and 3.7%.
As unemployment was practically non-existent at the beginning of the 1920s, there was no need for the government to take steps concerning the labour market until the mid-1920s when the situation worsened because of the economic crisis. In 1924 a system of aiding the unemployed was established. Instead of paying unfruitful benefits to the unemployed, the government preferred to allow the advantages of voluntarily organized work to the community. For the first time relief work for unemployed was organized by local municipalities in 1924 and gradually the relief (public) work system became the main tool of Estonian employment policy. The road and construction works gave employment to the highest number of unemployed persons. Though a compulsory unemployment insurance had been several times under discussion, it was never introduced. The Estonian government followed the idea that the most effective method to reduce the unemployment rate was to develop economy and thus achieve full employment.