MARKED INCREASE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 67, 30 December 1946, Page 3

MARKED INCREASE

WORKERS IN INDUSTRY Final figures released by the National Employment Service as a result of the October Employment Information Returns, show an increase in the working population in the Rotorua-Bay of Plenty Employment District as compared with the survey made in the previous April. Government Departments are included in the following figures, but part-time employees and “one man” businesses have not been taken into account. Seasonal industries such as farming, dairy factories, etc. have also been omitted, separate action, mainly on a month to month basis being taken to obtain the necessary data for them. Nine hundred and two Units in the district employ a total of 10,803 persons, of whom 858 are working proprietors. Of the employees, 7369 are males and 2576 females. One hundred and twelve working proprietors are females. The April returns showed 817 Units employing 6784 males and 2578 females, and with the addition of working proprietors (779), a total of 10,141. Despite the increase in the labour force..employed, vacancies in -October existed for 394 males and 137 females, as compared with the April figure of 202 males and 101 females. Perhaps the most interesting comparison is that of the figures for juveniles employed, (i.e. persons under 21 years of age). In April the total was 1691, being 879 males and 812 females—l 6.6 per cent, of the working population. The October figures are 738 males and 815 females, a total of 1553 or 14.37 per cent, of the working population. This means that although on the one hand, workers have been reaching the adult age of 21, the intake of juniors and school leavers on the other hand has not been sufficient to maintain the proportion. This is more evident ,in respect of males, and while the total number of female juniors employed in October has shown an increase of 3 over the April figure, it must be remembered that there are now 79 more units operating. With the end of the 1946 school year falling within the period to be surveyed in April 1947, it will of course be necessary to wait until then before a really accurate comparison can be made.