Unemployment in the U.S.S.R. and the Struggle against it - Unemployment in the USSR

Sep 21, 2026

Unemployment in the U.S.S.R. is analyzed through the apparent contradiction of a reviving national economy and a steadily rising registered unemployment figure. The text explains how wartime blockade and civil war ended without resolving joblessness, attributing shifts to labor shortages, mass movement from towns to villages during famine, and later return to urban centers. Statistical tables for registered unemployed and trade-union members illustrate increasing labor supply outpacing absorption by industry, with seasonal effects described for winter months.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

The Unemployment Question

Wartime conditions and early trends

Recovery and the return of workers

Absorption versus rising unemployment (1922-26)

Registered unemployment tables (Table No. 1)

Limitations of exchange-wide observation

Causes linked to migration and labor imbalance

Recent two-year situation and 1927 changes

Seasonal unemployment and builders/transport workers

Registered unemployment across labour exchanges (Table No. 2)

97-84195-13Kats,Abram Markovich Unemployment in theU.S.S.R.and the struggle... MoscOW 1927 # COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIESPRESERVATION DIVISIONBIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TARGET ORIGINAL MATERIAL AS FILMED-EXISTING BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD 51001 Kats,Abram Markovich.624510 Unemployment in the U.s.S.R.and the strugg¹e against it c[by] A.Katz.7260Moscow,b Commission for Foreign Relations of the CentralCouncil of Trade Unions of the U.S.S.R.,c 1927.8 30030 p. RESTRICTIONS ON USE: Reproductions may not be made without permission from Columbia University Libraries. # TECHNICAL MICROFORM DATA FILM SIZE: 35mmBEDUCTION BATIO: 9:/ IMAGE PLACEMENT:IA IIA)IB IIB DATE FILMED: q22-97 INITIALS: 8 TRACKING\#: 27923 FILMED BY PRESERVATION RESOURCES,BETHLEHEM,PA. 308 Pe 802 A.KATZ # UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE U.S.S.R.AND THE STRUGGLE AGAINST IT PUBLISHED BY THE COMMISSION FORFOREIGN RELATIONS OF THE CEN.TRAL COUNCIL OF THE TRADE UNIONSOF THE U.S.S.R.MOSCOW—1927 43899 有了或y。4 951 2 88 # Unemployment in the USSR and the Struggleagainst it The Unemployment Question. Aglance at the trend of development of unemploy-ment in the USSR reveals at first sight a very strangeposition:during the decline of the national economy,there was no unemployment,but it grew with thedevelopment of industry.During the years of blo-ckade and civil war(1919—1921),not only was thereno unemployment,but the country experienced anacute shortage of labour power,despite the fact thatthe majority of factories and industrial undertakingswere idle and Soviet national economy was expe-riencing a heavy crisis.The reason for this was,on the one hand,that many able-bodied men werein the Red Army and,on the other,that,as a resultof the famine in the towns,thousands of workershad moved to the villages where food was less scarce. The civil war and blockade ended(1922)andSoviet national economy,particularly industry,be-gan to revive. Consequently,the position of town workers impro-ved,which circumstance caused those workers,whohad gone to the villages during the famine,to returnto the towns again,bringing also in their train partof the peasant population. A huge number of new workers and employeeswere poured into the national economy during the re rival period(1922—26).This figure,accordingto the State Planning Commission of the USSR,aniounted in 1922—23 to an average of 6,343 thou-sa id,and in 1926-27 to 11,160 thousand.Thefigures regarding the number of trade union mem-bers also confirm this:whereas on January 1,1923,th?number was 4,324 thousand,on January 1,1927,th is figure had grown to 9,625 thousand. These figures leave no doubt as to the fact thatth national economy of the USSR in the period1922—26 absorbed about 5,000,000 additional workers.Yet,in spite of the rapid growth of the national eco-nomy and the introduction of huge number of wor-kers and other employees into industry,unemploy-ment has steadily grown during that period. T able No 1.Registered unemployed at the Labour Exchange of USSR . | Date | | No.of Unemployed. | | --- | --- | --- | | January 11922 | | 160,000 | | 》 1923 | | 641.000 | | 1924 | | 1,240,000 | | 1925 | | 901,600 | | 1926 | | 951,200 | | 1927 | | 1,310,500 | Thus,the registered unemployment figure at theLε bour Exchange at thebeginning of 1922 was 160,000;in 1923—641,000 and in 1924 it increased to 1.240,000.In 1925,however,the unemployment figure decrea-sed(true,partly owing to the fact that non-proleta-risn elements were excluded from the unemploymentrejisters,as a result of the abolition of the privile-ges previously extended to them),but in 1926 it beganto increase again. It should be mentioned here that the exact trendof unemployment in the USSR cannot be observedfrom this table,since the figures for

FAQs

Why did unemployment first appear to be absent during the decline of the national economy?

The text states that during the decline there was no unemployment; instead, unemployment grew as industry developed. During blockade and civil war, there was no unemployment but an acute shortage of labour power.

How did famine and migration affect unemployment trends?

It explains that thousands of workers moved from towns to villages during the famine, then returned to towns as the civil war and blockade ended and industry revived. After proletarian elements returned to towns for work, the influx of peasants continued, eventually making it impossible for urban branches to absorb surplus labour power.

What do the tables of registered unemployment show about the period 1922–1927?

Table No. 1 presents a rise from 160,000 registered unemployed at the beginning of 1922 to much higher levels in later years. It also notes that unemployment increased again after a decline in 1925 and continued upward into early 1927 before gradually decreasing from June 1, 1927.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Valentina