THE LABOUR MARKET.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 790, 13 April 1910, Page 8

THE LABOUR MARKET.

... :.,» SITUATION IN THE CENTRES. . OFFICIAL EFFORTS. , The. ."Labour. Journal," published yes- , terday ' contains , the usual summary; of '.the condition of the various trades in the'. towns of New Zealand. ; ' . .WELLINGTON. Trade during the month just ended ' has been fairly good generally and quite .up'to the-usual, standard-of corresponding' months of previous years.' Some trades show a decided improvement while others remain steady. There are very few men out of employment- and that are idle are generally men whose occupations causo their employment to be of an intermittent nature. . trades have been - exceedingly busy, particularly so in the dressmaking departments. One leading firm states that they fonnd it impossible to get enough hands, and were prepared to engage a great many more competent dressmakers, and pay them good wages. The firm concerned desired this to be known in other districts. Building trades: Bricklaying only fair, and several hands are out of employment. Carpentry and.joinery fair,ly good, with very few men out of employment. Painting only fair at the beginning of tho month, but' a decided improvement has been shown during the last week. The improvement, however, is not likely to continue. Plastering rather on the slack side; a few men out of work. Plumbing and gasfitting fairly good; employers report that fair trade is being done.' Stonemasonry fairly good J all hands fully employed. Woodworking trades: Boxmaking good; factories working full time. Cabinetmakiug and upholstering slack, with little prospects of an improvement. Coopering fairly good; little change from last month. Sash' and door factories still on the slack side, although a slight improvement has been shown. Sawmilling slack, with very few orders coming in. Woodturning, etc.,. fairly busy. / Engineering trades: Boilermaking slack, and at present there are no prospects, of improvement. Brass; and coppersmithing still on the quiet side! Electrical engineering fairly good; all hands fully employed. Fitting and turning and iron and brass moulding slack, with no indication of an improvement. Itangemaking very slack, with little or nothing being done. . ', ■ Leather trades: Bootmaking (factories) busy; factories working full time. Bootmaking' (repair-shops)— Plenty of work coming in, and occupiers report that fair trade is being done. Saddlery and harhessmaking fairly busy, and further improvement is looked forward to. Clothing trades: Dressmaking and millinery very busy, and difficulty is being experienced .in getting hands. Shirtmaking fairly good; factories workinfull time. Tailoring (order) busy; good trade being done. Woollen-milling fairly busy; factories working full time.' Retail .trades: Clothing, boots, draperv • groceries—Occupiers report that fairiv good trade is being done. Printing trades: Bookbinding rather on the quiet, side. Printing fairly i nisv with little change from last month; '' Meat-freezing, etc.: ■ Tanning, currving and fellmongering, slaughtering, freezing and preserving—These trades have been brisk, and hands have been fully' employed. '.'-..

Coachbuilding trades: Blacksmithing fairly good. Coach, carriage, and tramcar repairing fairly good so far hs conchbuilding is concerned; tramcur repairing has been brisk. Cycle and motor trades fairly good, chiefly on repair work. Unskilled labour: Local work has been fairly good as compared with the same period last year, but tho demand for dairy-farm hands has fallen off to a largo extent, owing to tho close of the dairying season. Thero doos not. appear to be much unskilled work offering in and about tho cily itself, and, as far a.s can be ascertained, thero is no promise of any large works being put in hand.' MASTERTON. There has been very lijtle alteration in the state of trade and business generally during the month just ended. Building operations, however, continue to look considerably brighter than .they did during tho corresponding period' of last year, and judging by the amount of work afcTpresent in hand, and also that reported as coming out, tho prospects seem fairly promising. The erection of the new freezing-works at, Waingawa has commenced, and should afford 'emplovment for a fair number of men during tho winter. Of the clothing trades, tailoring has,slackened off very considerably, and is really quiet, Eetail traders report that sales are ' fairly well maintained, and keep up to the standard of expectation. The discovery of an excellent fireclay deposit in this district is reported. Samples have been analysed and tested,' with good results. A company is being formed to develop the discovery and erect works. PALMEESTON NOETH. Business generally has been rather quiet.for tho past month. Some broken weather and the Easter holidays has been responsible for a little of this, but, still, trade should have been better considering the increase in tho prico of wool. Customers seem to be hanging on to their cash, and storekeepers complain of a' general tightness of money. , Building trades: Bricklaying—There are several brick buildings in course of erection, which have kept the local hands employed, but there is no chanco for any extra workmen. 'Carpentry and joinery has been very slack, and is likely to remain so for some time to come. Painting is dull, and thero are several workmen out of employment. - Plastering slack. Plumbing and gasfitting fair, though not busy enough for outside hands to find employment here. Stonemasonry normal. . Woodworking trades: Boxinaking brisk. Cabinctmaking and upholstering—Not much doing in this line. Coopering busy; all bands kept fully employed. Sash and door factories—Not very busy, but regular hands are kept employed. Sawmilling slack. Wood-turning, etc., fair. Engineering trades: Firms report a very fair month, and seoni to have kept all their hands working full time. They are expecting to keep going for another mouth at least. !Leather trades: Bootmaking (factories) very, fair;, all hands fully employed. Bootmaking (repair-shops)— Plenty of work coming-in, so that tradesmen are kbpt busy to cope with orders. Saddlery and harnessmaking brisk. Clothing trades: Dressmaking and millinery fair, but not quite as. good as expected for this time of the year. Tailoring (factories and order)— All tailors have experienced a very good month, and in some cases a littlo overtime has been worked.* Eetail trades: Clothing—Shopkeepers are doing good business, and reports are very favourable for'a busy winter. Boots —As ,good as usual for this season. Drapery quite satisfactory; the cold weather lately experienced has helped to push' trade.- Groceries—Still doing good business,' and retailers seem quite satislied. ~, ,: ; WANGAITOI. -. There is no alteration in, the condition of trade since last'report.' Painters,' carpenters, and plumbers are still fairly

well employed. Brickinaking also is busy. Cabinetmaking is about the same as last month, and there are two men reported idle. Tailoring is quiet, and retailers report an average month. Building trades: Bricklaying busy, and all journeymen employed. Carpentry and joinery still very good, and sufficient work ' offers. for all local hands. Painting is also very good, and no journeymen are idle. Plumbing and gasfitting fairly good, and sufficient work to keep all local men going. Woodworking trades: Cabinetmaking and upholstering still quiet. Coopering is fairly busy, and no journeymen idle. Sash and door factories have considerably improved, and full time is being worked. Wood-turning quiet. Engineering trades: Boilermaking, electrical engineering, fitting, etc., very quiet, and one or two' journeymen have applied for work during the month. .Leather trades: Bootmaking (repairshops) busy, and all hands employed. Saddlery and karnessmaking quiet, but no journeymen are idle. NEW PLYMOUTH. The retail trades have been very regular during the period under review. Some complain that trade has been' Very quiet, but the majority seem satisfied with the amount of business done. The drapers' winter goods are to hand, and the shopkeepers are looking forward to an increased return therefrom. The manufacturing trades show a slight improvement since last report, particularly in the carpentering, joinery, and painting trades. Butter and cheese manufacturing, boxmaking, meat-freezing, and preserving are still doing good business, and the season has been a very satisfactory one in these trades. NAPIER, During the past month trade and business has been quiet generally throughout this district. However, the building trade is said to be on the mend, and will probably keep improving. Clothing trades, dressmaking, and millinery are very good. Tailoring may: be classed as fair, but has. not been on a par with the corresponding month of last year. Woodworking industries, sawmills, sash and door factories, are slack. Coopering has been fairly busy. Cabinetmaking has improved of late, and difficulty has been experi-. enced in obtaining cabinetmakers and upholsterers for the country districts. The majority of shopkeepers have been very busy stocktaking, and in the drapery and clothing trades the usual between season .sales have taken place. There is a general complaint as to the scarcity of money, but it is'expected to disappear as soon as the returns for the recent wool sales are in circulation.