TRADE IN WAR TIME

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2352, 7 January 1915, Page 3

TRADE IN WAR TIME

■ ' CITY DOING WELL PLENTY OP WORK AND GOOD ■ BUSINESS CHEERING REPORT. , The reports of the Labour Department on the conditions' of trade and employment in • Wellington during. December are to the effect that there is very little unemployment, and that tradesmen and other business people are doing well. Satisfaction is expressed on every hand (says the report) with the condition of labour during the past month. Retailers are particularly pleased with ,the. volume,.of business transacted. The Christinas trade was better .than that expected, and money has been freely spent. The various manufacturing trades kept well up to the usual standard, and, on the whole, unemployment throughout the month was reduced to a minimum. ;' , ■ / The position of employment in the building trade has There were a number of. large bricElaying jobs Jmt ia hand during December. CaTpeßfers and joiners are fairly busy. A few carpenters were out of employment, but work now undertaken should absorb these during the next few weeks. Painters are busy; and a considerable amount of outside painting was done prior to. the holidays. Conditions are satisfactory' in the plumbing and gas-' fitting lines, and but few men are out of employment., The plastering .trade is busy. In cabinetmaking and upholstering, orders have been more plentiful during the pastmonth than previously; and'in box-making and coopering matters are busy. Cabinetmaking factories have been working full time.: The position with sash_ and door factories is fair, likewise with the,wood-turners. The engineering trades have been busy in all branches, and few, if any, men are out of employment. These conditions ire likely to continue for some time." . The' bootmaking establishments have been very busy; the repair shops about normal ;'and all hands have- teen fully employed in "tho; saddlery and harnessmaking, trades, , which have experienced a busy time. The several branches of the clothing trade have all been busy. In the dressmaking and millinery: departments a fair ''amount of overtime has -been worked ;. in the shirt-making the hands have been busy ; and the tailoring business showed a noticeable ' improvement on the preceding month's business; The tailoring, factories were kept very busy, principally .on Defence Office orders. Good business is reported in the retail trades;' -?n.' the,* printing line no hands are reported to be idle ; mechanics are in demand in the cycle and motor trades; no blacksmiths are out of work; eoachbuilders are busy; busy times are being experienced in the tanning, curry- ■ ing, and fellmongering lines; the local slaughtering, meat-freezing and preserving works are now fully staffed, and stock is coming in; business in the jewellery and. fancy-goods lines has been good,. and in excess of expectations; -and the rush of work in: biscuit and confec-tionery-making necessitated a considerable : amouiit of overtime. ■ There was a very appreciable decrease in the number of applicants for employment during the,' past month. There was a good demand for farm hands and .milkers, and in the majority •of oaßes. the_';.demand' a few -are required' ''still. Also, a few lads could be placed on farms 1 . _ Harvesting i operations, now commencing, should absorb a fair per:oentage of men during the coming month.' Many men who were offered positions in the country decided not to leave town owing to. the nearness of the Christmas holidays,'and this shows that their needs could not have been very pressing. The. number of men assisted was 166, of whom 60 were married and 106 single,with 173 dependants. These comprised blacksmiths, fitters, carpenters, farm-hands, hotel-workers, painters, and. labourers. One hundred were sent to private employment, and sixtysix to Government works. Forty-nine •were from the North Island, twentysix from the South Island, fourteen from Australia, sixty-six from Great Britain, and eleven from other places. In addition; nine wives and fifteen children were assisted to join their, relatives. ' .