THE LABOUR MARKET.

Evening Post, Volume LXIX, Issue 88, 14 April 1905, Page 2

THE LABOUR MARKET.

NOTES ON THE CONDITION OF TRADES. SUMMARIES OF REPORTS. Tho following notes upon (lie condition of the bkillcd tnule.s ;uul unskilled labour i market* during List month aio taken from the cvirrenl i*><uo of Urn Labour Journal:— WELLINGTON. Building trades: Fuiily biisk; still there are a few cavpenteis out of employment, owing to v number having recontly armed from other purt.s of tho colony. A uuinbcr of conti.iet.s are lo bo let Bluntly, therefore, them is every prospect of impiovcment. Engineering tiudes: Very slack, and Iheio j« no immediate mcKspecl. of an improvement. Hoot tr.ulo: Fanly biu>y, nil factories working full tune. There are no men out of employment. Clothing trade: Busy, especially in the dressmaking department ; v. large amount of oveitime is being worked. Retail trade, (general) : Fairly good business doing, quite up to the usual standard. Miscellaneous : Saddlera and lumicsH-nuikers arc doing fairly good business, and there aru no men out of employment. Coach and carriage builders aro also fully employed. Unskilled labour: Most of the applicants for employment during the past month Juivo been new arrivals from Australia, South Africa, and Ureat Britain. Local men seem fairly well employed, and thow who applied to the .Department for >\ork readily found employment. There lias been n good demand for pick-and-shovel men. One hundred and three persons, with ono hundred and twenty-six dependants, were found employment on public and private works. NOTES AND COMMENTS. PALMERSTON NORTH. Trade ; Thero i 8 on improvement under this head, which was rnthoi depressed last mwith. The public arc lnying in a. stock for winter, while sales of summ.r good» me still proceeding. building Trade: This continues, very brisk as regards hotcltt nnd now shops, wooden buildings, being in nearly ovory instance superseded by brick ones, while the item of dwellinghouses' is on tho increase. Suwmilling is in lull swing, and flaxmillers are taking advantage of the dry weather to push their busine.sn, knowing that little enn be do:io in winter. Every mun who hun applied at the office of the Department has been put on to where work could be obtained, No one able and willing need be out of work at the piesent time. WELLINGTON. Business generally lnus been good during the last month, and quite up 10 pieviouf* years. Building trades have been particularly brisk, owing lea 1 large number of oontracts boing uiider" way. More largo contracts aro .shortly to be let, and the outlook is very promising. Clothing tt\uios, especially - the dressmaking • dejmrtmonb, nave been exceptionally busy, inving, doubtless, to \ho unusually line weitiier. Tho engineering trades during the month havo town Vfry filnck. Foundry peoplo complain- that, although thoy gut plenty qf enquiries, no orders come along, i'hero is no immediate proipect of improveirfcnt. The boot trade hits been fairly brisk, nnd' factories have been kept Tiusy. ' The Shops and Offices Act is at present working amootlily, and, with a lew exceptions, shopkeeper* show a general desire to observe the law. Both unploycrs and employees s>eum satisfied with its provisions. The Factories Act continues to work satisfactorily, and the feeling between employer and employee generally is good. No difficulty w experienced 'in enforcing its provisions). The Indufltriul Conciliation nnd Arbitration Act i« still giving s.itufuotion, and tho benefits derived from it lire becoming more apparent. While awurda and agreements are being generally well observed, it is regrettable Hint there are a lew employers who aro reluctant to comp'.v with the provisions of tho various awards under which they work. Surveyors' lluports, — 'Mr. J5. A. Marchant. Assistant Surveyor, Oio, reports : ''Work ie plentiful in this district at present. There is plenty of work on the railway construction works. Tho settlers in this block are grass-seeding, and they have cnguged men, and the Roads Department is commencing road construction Work in tho Kaiteko and Returuko Valley*." Mr. H. K. Girdlestonc, AssistantSurvoyor, Taihapo, otatea: "There tire more sawmills going up in the district, which will mean employment for a number of men. Main Trunk Hnilway works in full swing. Building trade brisk. No swaggers about." Mr. J. 11. Stmcjian, Aih uistant-Surveyor, Piriaku, rop'ortej "During 1 the present month 1 havo not seen any men in want of employment in tho To Maire portion of the Waimarino district." Mr. F. A. Thompson, DiatrictSurvoyor, Oio, reports: "During the past month of February I have heard of no unemployed in this neighbourhood. The (settlers who selected laud undor the Bush and Swamp Aot 1903, appear to have made good headway with the clearing and gratslng, and two of them have brought their families. I understand tluvt a considerable area is likely to bo felled during the immediately ensuing season, possibly affording employment for about a, hundred mon." NELSON. 'I ho building trade continues otill good in all branches, chiefly in tho suburbs and country districts. Thcro havo been no men signing the carpenters' employ-ment-book fur the lout two months, and there is a demand for a few good hands in the building trade. Engineering trade also keeps up, doing general repairs to mining and sawmilling machinery. There is also a fair amount of work going on in couutctiou with shipping. Retail shops in the city report fair business j money rather tight. Country storekeepers state good business ; money circulating fairly freely. As far as the country districts are concerned, this is accounted for by tho prices now* ruling for hurley, As 6d to 5s per bushel j hops selling at Is per pound, with a rising market. There, in no doubt but the city wul, in the couroe of next month, feel the bonefit of tho money now coming in. Mining : The outlook of the Mineral Belt Copper-mining- Company ut the present time is very good, and reducing and Mnelting.wofrkV aVc- likely to be soon built in connection with this mine. There m Tory little difficulty in good men finding employment, in this district nfc tho present time amongst tho runholdors and I fanners j however, I should not advise men to como hero to seek work in the city, as at the present time there ia no great amount of contract work going on to take up much unskilled labour in the city.

CHRIBTOHURCIT. The building trado is fairly buoyant, with prospect* of a continuance of activity. Several big jobs arc about to bo started, which will take the place of those now ncaring completion. Some brunches, such as painters and plasterers, are jiut a little nuiol, partly due to tho fact thnt many of the largo buildings in course of erection are not sufficiently advunced to employ men in llioso branches. Within the next weok or two all hands in the above branches should bo fully engaged. Tho engineering trades aro rather quiot, no contracts of any consequence bQing in hand at present. Tho boot trade ' is doing fairly well. Thero is a great dearth of female labour. In tome ot tbe

large imloin'* quite a number of machines aro landing idle, notwithstanding Ih.il Ilii" litli" ot w.igiis ranges from 8s to £1 10s per weok. Clothing factories are nun li moro active than they were la»t month, overt imp being worked by «evci.il linii.s. Other ' trades, nucli as ki<lilU'i'y, pltimbiii),', and ga&iilting, ant <loiug fairly w.-11. Retail traders aro <loing good buMiie.sh, although they complain that, money has been rather tight fur bomo timo past. DUNEDI^. BiiiUling Trade: For several months this tr.tdo lia.s huen a bit, black, but this, no doubt, in owing to the large amount of wot weather, which has been a great hindrance lo all out-of-door employment. Owing to so much broken time the workmen get somewhat restless, but now tho building trade is again spnnging \into activity, and both in city and biibmbs building.'* of a superior class aro in course of erection. Thero is a very notable fe.ilure in the building trade — viz., the absence of low tendering for jobs; which tended <?o much to reduce the wages of the workers, especially if tho contract was not a paying one. Engineering Trade : Although slack, permanent hiiiul& arc being kepi on,; but unless something tuniK up to put new vigour into the trado an increase of hands is not expected. There i.t no sign of slackness in the range-mak-ing trade ; all hands are making full lime, and tho prospects arc good. Clothing Trado: Good in all its branches, and there seems to be a difficulty in getting coat-hands. One of the leading firms h.is been advertising for hands at an increased rate of wages, but n« yet has failed to secure them. Prospects are exceedingly good ; the only drawback .seems to bo Iho scarcity of hands. Boot Trade : Although at present somo of the Mini Her factories are a. hit quiet, the larger factories are doing a good steady business. Retail Trade : Very pood, and money scemw to bo more plentiful. Labour: 'J ho monitor of applicant sa for employment is small compared with the same period in former yeat>, ami it cannot ho said thai there in much dilHculty in getting employment for thoso willing to go Ui woik. (.ioml prices are obtained for all faim-pioduco at present, and there is every bigu of prosperity. ______________