Economic landscape 1918-1979 By Cmeloon Period: 1914 to 1918 UK borrowed £850 million Period: 1918 to 1939 41% unemployment in coal mining Period: 1918 to 1939 49% unemployment in iron/steel Period: 1918 to 1939 60% unemployment in shipbuilding Period: 1918 to 1922 Taxes raised by £6 per capita Period: 1918 to 1939 Unemployment never fell below 10% 1922 Geddes Axe 1925 Limited tariffs were introduced Apr 1, 1925 Churchill returned the pound to the gold standard 1926 General Strike 1929 Local Government Act Period: 1929 to 1931 Unemployment doubled 1930 Economic Advisory Council was set up 1931 Exports become 25% cheaper 1931 May report released 1931 Mutiny of 12,000 sailors in Scotland 1931 Pound taken off gold standard 1931 Pound depreciated to $3.40 Period: 1931 to 1934 Construction industry make up 1/3 of jobs 1932 More tariffs added at British Empire Economic conference 1932 Import Duties Act Period: 1932 to 1933 Unemployment rose to 23% 1934 Unemployment Assistance Act 1934 Iron and Steel federation act 1935 15% of the unemployed has a job due to rearmament 1936 Cotton industry reorganisation act 1941 Registration for employment 1941 8.5 million Essential Work Orders 1944 Government took long term responsibility for employment 1945 Britain was £4 billion in debt to USA 1947 Harsh winter 1949 Atlee devalued the pound 1951 30% of government spending was on defence 1951 10% of workforce was in nationalised industries