H—llA

(а) Farming Industry.—Most of the demands for labour came from farms engaged in mixed operations, requirements being mainly for tractor-drivers, teamsters, and general farm hands, and a limited number of juveniles. The 33 notified vacancies in September, 1945, declined to 11 in December, though, with seasonal harvesting and threshing-mills activities, the demands had risen by February, 1946, to 25 and fell to 6 at the end of March. (б) Freezing-works.—Seasonal activity commenced early in January, and the demands of the works at Paeroa and Smithfield were met without any particular difficulty and resulted in a definite improvement in the employment opportunities offering in the district, with work available to all reasonably fit men. Though a further limited number of men could have been absorbed, particularly in February and March, 1946, both works were able to cope with the stock offering with the labour available to them. (c) Linen-flax Factories at Washdyke, Fairlie, Geraldine, and Makikihi.—Demands have fluctuated with 15, the maximum number of notified vacancies. The successful search for a skilled man (obtained from another district) at one stage resulted in vacancies for 15 unskilled men, most of whom were obtained from Temuka. (d) Building Industry.—Only limited demands have been made for building operatives, with a maximum of 16 notified vacancies in February, 1946, mainly for skilled tradesmen. (e) Hotels and Restaurants.—The most consistent shortage of female labour occurred in hotels, &c. Notified vacancies, which in September, 1945, were 16, rose to 27 by December, since when there has been a gradual fall to 18 in March, 1946. The shortage of domestic staff in most hotels has involved frequent overtime work to meet the situation. (/) Woollen and Knitting Mills. —Only very limited demands were forthcoming up to the end of December, but by the end of January, 1946, notified vacancies for females had risen to 32, but had fallen to 20 by the end of March. A limited number of additional men have been engaged by the woollen-mills, principally owing to the shortage of female labour. (g) Biscuit-factory.—Demands for female labour were few, and they fell away to nil after November, 1945, but rose to 15 notified vacancies at the end of January, 1946, at which level they still remained at the end of March. A few men are now employed in the weighing, tying-up, and stacking sections, doing work previously done by girls. (h) Boot-factory.—A new boot-factory recently commenced operations at Temuka. More female labour is likely to be required as additional machinery is obtained, and limited numbers of male workers may then be required. (i) Other Industries. —Limited demands for labour have also been shown by several other industries—for example, at the end of March, 1946, motor services notified 6 vacancies for males (3 mechanics and 3 labourers); hospitals, 7 vacancies for females (5 for domestic staff); and glovefactory, 6 vacancies for juveniles. (j) Returned Servicemen. —An average of approximately 100 ex-servicemen became available each month upon discharge for employment, and the reabsorption of these men has proceeded very satisfactorily over the period. Fifteen ex-servicemen remained disengaged in March (8 fully-fit and 7 semi-fit), but no great difficulties were expected in locating employment for these men. Oamaru District 481. No difficulty lias been experienced in the placement of fit men seeking employment through the Department, and the number of such men disengaged was only a fifth of the vacancies for workers notified. On the other hand, the locating of light employment, suitable for semi-fit men, has presented difficulty. In the case of females, with no more than 2 registered as disengaged at any one time, as compared with notified vacancies which averaged approximately 70 over the period, a definite shortage of female labour has been evident. (a) Farming Industry.—There has been a fairly steady demand for general farm hands- and tractor-drivers, particularly from mixed farms. Few inquiries have been forthcoming from men seeking farm work (apart from an occasional married couple), and consequently it has been difficult to meet all demands for farm labour in the district. Towards the end of the period the demand fell from 28 in September, 1945, to 15 at the end of March, 1946. Steady demands were forthcoming during the shearing season for both blade and machine shearers. Although in some back country stations in the Kurow and Omarama areas, where blade-shearing is the practice, some runholders had to do their own shearing, the work being completed well up to customary schedule. Harvesting work, commencing about the beginning of February, occasioned considerable difficulty, with practically no suitable fulltime labour available, and the bulk of the assistance given to farmers came from volunteers for -week-ends and evening work. Threshing-mills, despite a marked reduction in the number of these operating, were also short handed, though every endeavour was made to man them. (b) Freezing Industry.—The freezing-works at Pukeuri were initially fully manned when seasonal activities commenced in early January, but as the season progressed more men could have been absorbed if they had been available. Lack of boarding accommodation presented difficulties in endeavouring to obtain men from other districts. At the end of March, 1946, when the works were at peak production, demands were for 15 additional men as slaughterhouse assistants and freezingchamber hands. The second chain at these works was manned during the season almost entirely by learners.

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