TRADE AND LABOUR.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1494, 17 July 1912, Page 9

TRADE AND LABOUR.

OFFICIAL REPORTS FOR JUNE,

The Labour Journal issued -yesterday includes the following reports on trade and labour in tho various centres during the munth of Juno:—

WELLINGTON. Reports from .retailers for the month of June have been depressed in tone. Altncugli the month is usually a quiet one, tiiti continued wet weather has seriously handicapped business. In addition, every Saturday has been wot and stormy, und in the small shops particularly coushUtablo trade has thus been lost which'is dithc'iilt to recover. Clothing and tool shops report fair business, and grocers and other provision dealers state that trade has been, fairly regular. "Beyond these, however, there has been ft genornl complaint of unsatisfactory trade. Notwithstanding tho wet w'catheri outside labour has been fairly constant, and the building trades have maintained steady work throughout. ,A fow bricklayers and 'carp-outers are idle, but it is expected they will soon be employed. Woodworking and engineering trades have remained steady. . Leather trades, . shirt, clothing; and wcollen milling factories, and printing establishments are active., Meat freezing, ocQchbuilding,'and cycle and motor laotories are now in their flack teason. Thert is a marked dullness in the baking trade, about ten bakers low beting out of' employment. Building trades: Bricklaying—Trade has fallen off, and several men :.re idle) at -early recovery is expected. Carpentry, and joinery—At the moment of writing, trado is slack, seven names being oil the unemployment book; it is 'ejo-rted. hoivever, that work is offering in the country districts. Painting—Good ■ for this time of the year, but is expected to ease off early. Plastering—There is likely to be ft surplus of work for the next two months; the General Post Office contract will then finish and about fourteen hands Le put off. Plumbing and Gaslitting— Very steady. Sufficient work offers to 'absorb all men. Stonemoionry—Quiet, Several tradesmen,'.seeking work and ho immediate contracts are in. sight.

Woodworking trades; Furniture trade— Cabinetninking is busy in all branches, but there are at present no inquiries for extra men; upholstering is also brisk, and good tradesmen are sought. .Boxniakins and coopering are still fairly busy. ' Sash and door factories report trade, quiet,. Sawmilling is also on the slow side. Wood-turning has improved since the previous report, and is now fairly busy.' • Engineering ' trades.—Boilennaking has improved sufficiently to keep -all hands employed. Brass and copper-smithing continues brisk, but there is no demand for extra hands. Fitting and turning is chiefly confined to repair work, and trade is not up ..to standard. Iron and brass, moulding—All shops are busy. Range, making—A distinct improvement is notice-' able, and fair trade is expected for' the next three months. Electrical engineering is very brisk; there is a demand for capable electricians; 1 employers,; neverthe- • less, complain that competition in the trade is so, keen that there is little or no margin on contracts. - Leather trades— Bootmnking factqrics are all in full swing, which is an improvement on the previous months report. Saddlery and harnessmaking continues .steady, although this is generally a slack month. Clothing trades—Dressmaking .busy. ■Millinery is now quiet.. Shirt-making continues very brisk; a difficulty exists iii getting hands. Clothing factories—Some report a ialling-off in trade, but the majority are very busy, chiefly with orders forvthe Defence Department. Order tailoring—Although slack; trade is better than usual .at this time of. the year. •Woollen-milling is reported busy, and tenders for extensive additions to the local mills are now out. Retail trades.—Clothing and boot shops report fair business during the. month. Grocery and provision dealers state trade, ■has been .regular. ~.The,.continued ,jncle-.. ment weather throughout the month has. however, materially affected business, and reports from all other shops hayficdtfeni, far from favourable. ,-'•.' .• ■ ..:;};• '!' '-Printing.trades.—Trade.both in bookbinding and printing has been well maintained, and,' with-Parliament .in session, condition's aro likely to be good for. some time. -. ' ■■- Ment-freezing, etc.—Slaughtering is now slack, the season having ended; a fair amount of preserving has been done during the month. .Tanning, currying, and fellmongering continue busy, but-enough labour is .offering.-. ~'.',, Coachbuilding,trades are quiet, and likely to continue'. so • for the next two. months. . - . •

Cycle and motor trades—Trade is slack, but sufficient repair work has offered to keep hands from being reduced. ( '■■ Unskilled labour—During the month the number of applications for employment has increased. There is a good demand for men for bushfelling and railway, work nt present, but the men applying do_ not seem disposed to leave the city; especially at this time of year. Considerable timo has been lost during the period on account of the wet weather experienced. A number of men have arrived from tho South Island, and no difficulty has been experienced in placing any applicants i'.iiiablo for heavy manual labour provided they were willing to accept country work. Although the dairying season does rot .-usually commence until the latter end of July, inquiries have : come to hand for • dairy farm hands, and a few■ positions are still opi.n. During the month 51 married men-ud 114 single men, with a total of 169 dependents, have been assisted, P 5 going to private employment, and 99 10 Government works. Those placed cu'iiprised carpenters, engineers, farm hind*, miners, and labourers.

. - . MASTERTON. During the month just ended-trade and labour conditions" have continued quiet. Owing to. tho cessation of work in several factories (meat-freezing, preserving, and icllmongM'y,. also butter aid checsemaking) during the winter season a number of workers are now.practically.out of employment, and at this season of the voir casual work is, unfortunately, somewhat slack throughout tho district. : Tho liuiMing'trades have not brightened up as much as expected. Coachbuilding, blacksmithing, and general engineering trades have been sufficiently bijsy to keep the majority, of workmen..steadily'employed.. Retail trades, drapery and clothing, have experienced goo'd business in. connection "with annual winter sales.

PALMERSTON-NORTH. Building trades: 'Bricklaying satisfactory. Carpentry and joinery very fair. Painting fair.__ Plumbing and gasfitting very busy* Stonemasonry normal; bad weather is affecting" trade in this line. Woodworking . trades: Boxmaking factory closed down for-a short, time owiftg to the slack season. -Cabinetmaking and iiphdl-. stering -fairly- busy. Coopering closed down. Sash and door factories very fair. Sawmilling quito up to the average. Engineering trades: Agricultural-implement making busy, preparing for winter show exhibits. Boilermaking, brass and coppcrsirUthing, electrical engineering fitting and turning, and iron and brass moulding fairly good; about the same as last month; all hands fully employed.-

OTAKI. There has been practically no change in the condition of work in this district from that reported the previous month, excepting that during the latter part of the month there has been a slight fallingoff in the volume of the retail trade, which no doubt is due principally to the seasonable conditions. The building trade is fairly busy;, there is still a number of buildings going up in and around tho township. The weather has been very unfavourable to the dairy farmers, conseriuentiv there has been n noticeable fall-ing-off'in the milk supply. One man npplicd for, work <\t gardening, and was found employment. »

NAPfRH. ■ The moritlr ha* not bom one of very marked actuily. and the general toun of business seems to indicate a tightness in the menev market. Despite this drawback, however, many of the trades report fair business, but on the whole trade is not to buoyant as the previous month. The drapery business appears to bo somewhat behind that of the same period of last year; this no doubt is accounted Mr bv the fact that the winter has b?en very mild, and it is only diirinjr the last few days that winter garments have been called- into-requisition. The tailorine- trade still maintains a good position. The approach of winter has brought in its trail & large numbex of unskilled labo.uierA

and a difficulty is being experienced in obtaining employment lor them, 'the value of building permits for the preceding month was j.'a2Bo.

HASTINGS. The report's from this town are_ little more encouraging than from Napier. Business appears to have more stability, but, as in tho latter town, there is a tightness of ready money. The grocers have had a good month. The drapers hnve had a fairly good month, but many complain of u shortage of ready cash. The unskilled labour market in this town has not reached such-an acute stnge*as in Napier. The value of building permits for the month of May was .SGIEB.

NEW PLYMOUTH! There has been no alteration in the manufacturing trades since last report. All tho building and allied trades have continued fairly busy. There arc one or two more bricklayers employed than usual upon the new public buildings which aro in course of erection. The tailoring, dressmaking, and millinery trades have continued very good, particularly the tailoring trade, and • many employers s'lill And great difficulty in obtaining sufficient hands to meet requirements. Cabinetmaking and upholstering have continued very busy-right through the month. Killing and freezing still continue, at the works, arid there is a good deal of preserving to do. Tho season has been an exceptionally busy one both at the Waitara and Fa tea works. The dairying season proper is practically at an end. Retail trades in all branches have had a fairly good month. ,