District Trade.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 19 March 1910, Page 4

District Trade.

ft THE LABOUR JOURNAL'S REPORT. in , , Amongst the important centres ], of labour from wliicli the Labour 1,, Journal draws its reports coiicorning labour, Leviu is not included. . Why this should be so seems to call for explanation. However, there ,f n o i'e|M)i't.s- from Palmerston and ,i Otaki in the March journay, ami . no doubt these will give a. fairly jr accurate idea of trade conditions y. in contiguous parts. These ren ports are as follow:— e PALMERSTON NORTH. 11 trades: Bricklaying;— Irade lias brightened up eonsideri and several brick buildings r ! in the course of erection throughout the district. Carpentry and joinery is very slack; there 11 is not the slightest chance of outside tradesmen finding employment hero Painting lias been 'quiet, 1 and .several ol the local linns have beoii slackening off hands. Plastering—Not much doing in this t line, although a little work is ex- • pected in a week or so. Plumbing • and gnsfitting quiet; enough work ' can bo found to keep the local s hands going. Stonemasonry fair, 1 but no openings for extra hands. 1 Woodworking trades: Boxmaking ' lair. Cabinet-making and upholstering still busy, and a\\ hands >< are kept fully employed. Coopering still brisk. Sash and door ' lactones art 1 , working nearly fulltime. Employers are quite satisfied. Sawmilling firms have had 1 rather a good month. Wood- , turning, etc., fair. Engineering trades : .Employers report a very .satisfactory .mouth. All hands have been working full time, and the shops are fully staffed. Hopes are entertained of business continuing brisk for some time to come. There are, however, no openings for extra, tradesmen here at present. Leather trades: Bootmaking (factories) satisfactory; all hands have been kept fully employed. Bootmaking (repair-shops) has been very brisk, and there is no dearth of orders. Saddlery and harnessmaking is very fair, hut there is much room for improvement. Clothing trades: Dressmaking and military fair; firms expect to be busy during the coming month. Tailoring (factories and order)— All tradesmen have experienced a very fair month, and a little overtime has been, worked. Retail trades: Clothing, boots, drapery and groceries—Retailers report a slight slackenilng-off in trade for the past month. They do not seem too sanguine with regard to the prospects for the coming winter. Printing trades: Bookbinding and printing have been doing very well, and all hands have been keptgoing throughout the month. Meat-freezing, etc. : Tanning, currying, and fellmongery; and slaughtering, freezing and preserving—The Longburn Freezing works have been kept going full time. There are no vacancies for extra hands there just now. Coachhuildlng trades: Blacksmithing and coach and carriage building—A very quiet month has been experienced with not much prospect of brightening up. Cycle and motor trades rather quiet. A slump has been experienced lately in these trades. Agricultural operations; Farming, dairying, etc., are just beginning to slacken off, and in about a month's time a large number of the dairy factories will be closing down for the winter. Miscellaneous: Flaxmills seem to be slackening off a little, as there have been several applications for work during the month. A new soap-works has commenced operations at Longburn during the past month Unskilled labour: None has been required and very little lias been offered during the past month. TRADE AT OTAKI. Trade and business on the whole have been quiet during the past month, and many employers (Miniplain that there is little or nothing doing. There have been no applicants for work during the mouth and no overtime applied for. All of the building trades are quiet. Woodworking trades: Cabinetmaking and upholstering normal. Sawmilling busy. Leather trades :Bootmaking (re-pair-shops) and saddlery and haruessmaking fair. Clothing trades: Tailoring (order) fair. Retail trades: Clothing, boots, drapery and groceries quiet. Printing fair. Coaehbuihling trad/es Blacksmithing normal. Coach and carriage building fair. Cycle and motor trades fair. Agricultural operations: Farming, dairying, etc., very good. Feed is abundant-, and stock generally look well. The creameries are still doing a good business. The potato crop in the district is fairly good, with the exception of a few fields that were attacked bv blight. Miscellaneous: Flax-milling is in full swing, and all hands are working full time. The two_ basket factories report a fair business. Unskilled labour: There is no demand here at present for this class of work; the local supply is sufficient to meet the demand.