SMALL UNEMPLOYMENT

Chronicle (Levin), 8 March 1946, Page 3

SMALL UNEMPLOYMENT

BIG UNSATISFIED DEMAND FOR LABOUR MINISTER'S SURVEY WELLINGTON, March 7. The Minister of lndus'trial Maujlower ^Hon. A. McLagaii) stated today that the general employment position throughout New Zealand is at present particuiarly buoyant, and that, not- \ lthstanding ihe reabsorption by industry of thousands of men who had tieen deiuomlised from the Armed Forees sinee tlie cessation of hostilities, there is still an uusatisiied damend for practically all types of labour. "In fact, '' siaied tlie Minister, "tht number of vacaiicies recorded in dis-. irict oflices of the National Serviee Dopurtineiit is at present kiglier than at any time dunng the war years, and aithough this is du'v, largely to the increase in the deniand for female workers and to the fact that the department is now recording all types of vacancics, whereas tluring the war years only vacaiicies iu undertakings falling within mere essential categories were recorded, there w ero at February 15 6375 recorded vacaiicies for males. These vacaiicies covered practically everv type of occupatiou, 54 per cent boing for skillcd or experienced workers aud tlie balance for unskilled or juvenile workers. "As it has been possible to satisfy only a sinai] proportion of the vacancics notilied to the department, it is reasonable to assume that many einployers have refrained from advising the departnienl of tlieir requirements aud tliat the- act„al nuinber of vacancies in industry is considerably in ex cess of tiio liguro quoted. Furtheriuoro. this figure does not include inen who will be required- for essential devolop uient works which will be put in haud by the Works Department when laboui t econies available. ' ' Altliougli the recorded vacaiicies are spread throughout the whole Do ininiou, tliere has beeii a tendencj' in recent moatiis for the vacaiicies, both for males and females, to contract in almost all secondary towns and rural areas and to increase in the maia industrial centres. The total vacaiicies recorded for females is 81 1(3 and the fact that in eacli island 84 per cent. oi these vacaiicies are in the main centres clearly indicates that there is greater availability of feiuule labour ui tlie secondary centres. Low Number Seeking Work. " Notwithstaudiiig the buoyancy oi tlie eiiiploynienl position," continued the Minister, ' ' tliere was at February 15 a total of 435 inalos enrolled witli ihe department as disengaged and seeking employment. This figure is, however, the-lowcst recorded since the cessation of hostilities. Aithough 62,489 men have been demoOilised from the Armed Forces since \'-.J Day, there were only 155 returiied Berviceinen iucluded in •the number enrolled for eniployuient at February 15. ALany of these inen are seeking only teniporary employment. Of the 435 males, civilians and exBervicemen enrolled for employment at February 15, 322, or 74 per cent., were classified as not fully fit for the types of work available and approximately 25 per cent. of the total vvere considered to be industrially unemployable. In the case of the fully fit males enrolled, only a few had been disengaged for more than a few days and in the main they were workers who for various reasons could not be iinmediateJy placed 011 the terinination of their pre v ious employment. ' ' The Minister then referred to state nients inade by 8ir William Beveridge, Ihe British expert 011 full employmeiit, to the eli'ect that, even in a state of fuii employment, there would always be sonie men who would be unemployedat any given date, and that, however great tlie deniand for labour, there was an irreducible niinimum of unemployment, a margin in the labour force required to make change and moveuieni possible. . 8ir William Beveridge estimates this at 3 per cent. of- the workiug population. ' ' Bused 011 a working population of 4SO,UOO males, the nuinber of males at present recorded as unemployed in New Zealand represents .09 per cent., or l-33rd of 3 per cent., so that it can be truly said that a state of full employmeiit obtains in ?. Dominion," concludcd tlie Minister. "Our greatest problem today is to iind sufiicient wrorkers, botli niale and female, to fili the vttcuucies ofi'eriug. ' '