LABOUR MARKET.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 224, 15 June 1908, Page 8

LABOUR MARKET.

THE FOUR CENTRES. Tho following notes on the labour market are condensed from the Labour Department's "Journal" for Juno: — WELLINGTON. Trado in general has been fairly good.\ Building and painting show a decided falling off, duo chiefly to' building operations in the suburbs being almost at a standstill. Engineering is also very slack, Bootmaking, tailoring, and dressmaking, • havo been extremely busy, and difficulty lias boon experienced in getting hands. Building trades aro fairly busy in and around tho city, though a decided falling off has been experienced sinco tho previous month, and a number of carpenters are at present out of employment. An improvement is, however, looked to, as it is expected that a number of largo contracts will shortly bo let. Bootmalting trades are very busy. Orders continue to come in, and factories aro working overtime. Great difficulty is experienced in getting competent hands, principally in tho machining department. The briskness is cxpected to continue for somo time yet, one large factory having quite' three months' work in hand. . Coachbuilding continues fair, but as tho winter approaches it is expected that a slackness will be experienced. Furnituro trades continue brisk, and for woollen-mills enough femalo labour cannot be got. Plumbing and gasfitting trades are fair. There aro a number of plasterers out of work. Painting shows a considerable falling-off, and,there are a number of men out of employment. Ono employer alone has had ; to put off twonly hands. The secretary of the Painters' Union also reports that there are some twenty men out of work, and that there are others idle about whom he does not know. Ho considors that the prospects of employment arc not good for the coming winter, and warns tradesmen from coming from other parts. Saddlery continues fair, and there are no hands out of employment. Unskilled . labour has been offering fairly, freely in the country. There has been a demand for bushmen, and a few. farm hands have also been in .request. A call has also been made for skilled .navr vies for Ofcira. Locally there, is not much work offering, and the prospects for tho coming winter do not appear to be good. Tho works controlled by the City Council are nearing completion, but it is expected that by the time these works are out of hand the making of tho new dam' at':Wainui-o-mata will be commonccd. Tho Harbour Board's works are also fully manned, and no new oxtensivo works are contemplated. Speaking generally, there appears to be no demand in the city at present for unskilled labour, and with the present'condition, of the building trade it would not be. wise for country workmen to make for tho town, as is usual at thi'. time of the year. Applicants for employment to tho Department' must now be prepared .to accept country or. co-opcrativo employment, which is still' available for willing workers. During the month 157 men wore assisted to public and private employment. ' AUCKLAND.' , The building trade .is still active, boot trade-busy, engineering slack, order tailoring fairly busy, carriage building normal, furniture trade somewhat slack, retail trade busy. ■ - , -•' CHRISTCHURCH.-

There has been a slight decline in , tho state of trade during the past'month, brought about largoly by the fast-approaching winter and also on account of tho. very low price of wool. 'Money ,is rather tight, but there is no causo for- alarm, as good prices are being -realised for grain, stock, and da,iry product Manufacturing, trades generally continuo busy, especially cohfectionery-mak-ing, factory tailoring,. shirtmaking, and waterproof-clothing making. Tho building trade still - continues busy, principally-on business premises, except in the carpentering and plastering trades; but there is a falling-off- in the. erection of cottages. The rebuilding- of premises destroyed by the late fire is in active operation,. and will .continue for tho winter. Bricklayers are' very busy, and there is plenty of > work ahead. Stonemasons — All good men are fully employed.' Painting trade—All tradesmen fully "employed, but a slight fall-ing-off in trade. . Plasterers—A few men out of employment. Carpenters—Not quite so busy as last month, on account of the'buildings in course of erection being hardly forward enough. Plumbers are working full time. Agricultural-implement making—A slight falling-off in volume of trade, and a few men have been discharged. Engineering trade—Working full time. Electrical engineering—Quiet. • ■ Qoachbuilding—Rather dull. Cabinetmaking—Several firms report that they are very busy and hardly able to supply orders, whilst other firms complain of , slackness. Bootmaking—Factories are l working full time, partly on orders. There is hardly the buoyancy, in the trade of the past few months. Brushmaking—Factories- are working full time, mostly on orders: A commencement has been made with the manufacture of paint-brushes, tho alteration of the tariff enabling this to be:done. "' 1 Tailors have; been fully employed. Cos-tume-makers are also fairly busy. Shirtmakers ■ have ■ worked full time; somo good female -machinists could be placed.' Capmaking factories are working full time. Wool-len-milling is quite up to the normiil. Order tailoring and millinery show a slight fall-ing-off. - ■ ■ . ' .-, . . In'the freezing-works the past month has been the busiest of . this season. Dressmaking is. keeping up well.: Retail traders report fair: business. DUNEDIN.

There has been considerable room for improvement in both trade and business. ■ A number of good outdoor workers have been idle. It is considered .that: the slackness will 'not. last long, though the building; industry cannot continue busy in -the same sense as during the past three'or four years. Retail business is, iair, with-no particular tightness of money. Carpentering still shows a. slackeiiing-off. Cottage-building, seems to-be on . the decline,.'and there ! aro very • few. contracts, of any magnitude in hand.. All bricklayers 'are employed,' but the outlook for them, in common with other building trades, is not too bright. Painting and plastering. have .been quiet; plumbing steady; coachbuilding satisfactory; and saddlers fairiy busy. Engineering; shows an improvement on last month, and the indications' are that it will continue so for a few weeks' time: In some shops. overtime has been worked-to complete orders in hand. The boot trade has bc.in very good,' and all hands have been fully employed.. In sail, tent, and cover making an excellent turnover has been experienced in. all factories. In shop tailoring a first-class business has been done, and there appears to be ashortness of experienced labour. . Clothing-fac-tories are busy. Dressmaking and millinery: The usual season's trade has been got through, nevertheless there are a number of workers who are not so constantly employed as they might be. Furniture trade: All hands are fully employed, and in one or two branches experienced tradesmen; could be placed. Printors and stationers are allkept going. There is a good demand for ploughmen, milkers, and rabbiters. A large proportion of unskilled workers are arriving from the Australian States. Where they are . capable of doing ordinary country work or navvy-work they can be placed; but in many instances they are not qualified to undertake employment of this character, and as a- don sequence there is a difficulty in finding suitable avenues for them.