DEARTH OF LABOR

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 223, 14 January 1911, Page 5

DEARTH OF LABOR

SERIOUS FOR MANUFACTURERS. v By Telegraph—Press Association. Dunedin, Last Night. Local manufacturers complain of the scarcity of juvenile labor, and say that adult labor is also hard to obtain. The difficulty presents itself chiefly in the clothing trade, which, it is said, could easily absorb 500 additional hands in the Dominion. In Dunedin complaints are daily coming to hand about the non-delivery of orders, but manufacturers are powerless, as they cannot obtain more hands. As a result, thousands of pounds' worth of goods are ; being indented from Home, which would profitably be made in New Zealand were labor available. Numerous causes are stated for the shortage, one explanation being the falling away in the number of ' - boys and girls available at the age at which it is legal for them to commence work. Many young people nowadays look to office work for employment. So '' far as female labor is concerned, wages * having been pretty high for the last year or two, there have been more mar* riages, which has largely reduced the supply of labor. The scarcity of hands is also severely felt in unskilled trades.