UNEMPLOYMENT IN CHRISTCHURCH

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28936, 2 July 1959, Page 8

UNEMPLOYMENT IN CHRISTCHURCH

Fair Increase In May This Year

Registrations for employment at the Christchurch office of the Department of Labour during May were ‘‘roughly 50 per cent." higher than the same month last year, according to the District Superintendent (Mr C. P. Collins). He said yesterday afternoon that last month 154 men and 15 women were registered.

“Two-thirds of the men are fully employable. They are mostly labourers from a variety of industry,” he said. Mr Collins said that during the month 106 persons—7l men and 35 women—were placed in jobs.

‘‘There is a fair demand for women as the position is fairly buoyant, but the difficult task is placing male clerks. Most firms looks for young people to train for their businesses.”

Mr Collins said that some people who registered for employment went away and found jobs for themselves. Registrations were kept “alive” for 14 days, but peoffle who had registered were sometimes not available when jobs needed filling. “The railways had some jobs for men, but many of those who had registered were already working when we went looking for them,” he said. One man who registered recently tried for five jobs in one day and got the fifth one. “He was really " keen,” Mr Collins added.