THE LABOUR MARKET.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9595, 15 September 1909, Page 7

THE LABOUR MARKET.

The following extracts concerniri Te Nui, Masterton, and Cartertoi are taken from the Journal of tr Department of Labour tor Septen ber— TE NUI. Building trades—Carpentry an i jninerv—Local tradesmen have bee doing very little during the month and it is said that very little wur will be done in this district unti the end of October, when the road will be open for heavy traffic Painting -Tradesmen from outsid' the district have been busy durinj the month. Plumbing and gasfittinj —Plumbers from outside the dia trict have been well employed Retail trades—Clothing boots, dra pery and groceries nave been verj slack during the month. Agricultura operations—Ploughing and sowing oats are in full swing in this dis trict at the present time. Unskilled labour—Several local men have been employed nearly full time during the month at fencing, roadwork, drainage, scrub-cutting and ploughing, but a few men have been idle as work is very scarce in the dis- , trict. Several swaggers passed through during the month, but as they were unable to get work here they kept travelling on towards Hawke's Bay. CARTERTON. i Business is much brighter in almost all trades, and people generally are JooKing forward to busy times in the near future. Building trades— Bricklaying, carpentry and joinery, painting and plumbing and gasfitting fair. Clothing trades —Dressmaking and millinery busy. Tailoring (order fair. Retail trades—Boots fair. Clothing, drapery and groceries busy. Agricultural operationsFarming, dairying, etc —The cheese factories are again commencing operations, which will give work to a numbei of men. Farmers are busy with ploughing. Unskilled labour — The only work of any consequenca is that of making new filter-beds at the reservoir, which has kept eight local men employed for the past two months. MASTERTON.

During the month just ended trade and business generally have remained very quiet. Keporta, however, show that an improvement is gradually but surely taking place, and a greatly increased volume of trade, wholesale and retail, is anticipated during the coming season. Several dairy companies are now commencing operations, and, judging by the extension and improvement of factories, a record output % expected this year. This will necessarily create a demand for extra workers. Building trades have i brightened up slightly, owing to the renovating and rebuilding of several shops; a few additional tradesmen and labourers have thus obtained employment. The busy reason on the stations is now approaching, and a number of additional hands should be required. Building trades—Bricklaying shows a slight improvement. A few buildings, principally brick, in course of erection, will absorb a few tradesmen. Carpentrv and joineryThere is an improvement in this trade, but not sufficient to employ all of those in the line who at present are following other occupations. Painting still quiet; a few tradesmen kept going steadily on repainting and renovating work. Plastering very slack. Plumbing and gasfitting still quiet; just enough work to k?ep a few regular hands steadily employed. Woodworking trades —Boxmaking An improvement is noticeable, piin cipally in butter-box making Cadinetmaking and upholstering still quiet; difficult to keep the regular hanas steadily employed. Coopering fair. Sash and door fac'.ories show a slight improvemen, but &o extra hands are, in demand. Sawmilling still very slack. Wood turning, etc. —Not sufficient work on hand for s'.eady employment; a few tradesmen kept going intermittently. Engineering trade- Agricultural im • plement making still remains fair, and regular tradesmen are kept steadily employed. Fitting and turning very quiet; some tradesmen idle. Iron and brass moulding slack. Leather trades—Bootmaking (factories)— Tradesmen report fair volume of work offering. Bootmaking (repair shops)— All jn the trade kept well employed, but no demand for additional men. Saddlery and harnessmakit'g—Trade is still reported very fair, with a tendency to improve. Clothing trades -Dreesmak- ! ing and millinery—Very fair trade is reported, the majority of factories employing their regular number of hands Tailorng (factories and order)— Trade still quiet;, several hands are not making full time. Retail trades—Clothing business is reported very fair, and a continued improve ment is apparents. Boots—Verv fair sales reported. Drapery—Several clearing sales have been held, and it is reported that good business has been experienced. Groceries —An improvement is noticeable, but tightness of cash hampers business. Printing—Regular hands are all kept steadily employed. Meat-freezing ! trades slack. Coachbuilding trades j —Blacksmithing fair; all regular . hands fully employed. Coachbuildi ing fair. Cycle and motor tradesFair ousiness is reported, but there is no demand for additional hands. Agricultural operations—Farming, dairying, etc.—The season is just i commencing and promises to be an \ exceptionally busy one. More exten • ' sive additions and improvements j have been adopted in several instances for the handling of ai, increased supply of milk. Unskilled labour—The number of applicants for work during the month have greatly decreased, which demonstrates an improvement There are. however, several men travelling through the district in search of work, and it is to be hoped that with the advent of a good seastfn these men may find profitable and pro ductive employment. Nine men were assited to private work during tne month.