labour exchange

plural labour exchanges

1. UKdatedAn employment agency, a job centre.

   Against her father’s wishes, at the age of 18 Elizabeth registered at a labour exchange and undertook a vehicle maintenance course at Aldershot, Hampshire, learning how to strip an engine.

   September 8 2022, Stephen Bates, “Queen Elizabeth II obituary”, in The Guardian

   2 more examples

   Isn't it taking candour unwisely far to anticipate clueless responses from some station staff and excuse them on the grounds that "some of the chaps you see in uniform have just arrived from the labour exchange"?

   1963 February, “Nobody runs this railway, mate”, in Modern Railways, page 75

   Wadebridge area railwaymen were reported in the local press as "worried", while National Union of Railwaymen (NUR) Wadebridge branch secretary W J Hambly believed "the rail closures will mean dole queues at the Labour Exchange for many".

   2023 March 22, Mike Esbester, “Staff, the public and industry will suffer”, in RAIL, number 979, page 38