The stated purpose was to help the unemployed find employment.

[1] Prior to the creation of these government-funded labour exchanges, workers would have to search for jobs themselves; the first labour exchange was established by social reformer and employment campaigner Alsager Hay Hill in London in 1871.

[2] The act also wanted to improve the mobility of the workforce, which until then had not been achieved.

[citation needed] The law was opposed by some trade unions that feared their bargaining power would be reduced by the law and make it easier to recruit cheap labour from distant parts of the country.

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