LABOUR MARKET.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 274, 12 August 1908, Page 8

LABOUR MARKET.

REPORT FOR AUGUST. Tho following notes on the conditions of tho labour market are riven in the '"Labour Department's Journal" for August:— WELLINGTON. Generally speaking, trade during the month just ended can bo s?.id to bo fair to fairly good. Employers say they have nothing to complain about, and, considering the season of the year and tho continued bad weather, tho amount of business doing compares favourably with the corresponding month of previous years. There are a number of men out of employment, but these are men connected with outside trades, which have been hampered by weather conditions. The painting trade especially has been exceedingly slack, but employers say that this is only what can bo expected, and such as is usually experienced at this season of tho year. Building trades are slack in the suburbs, but are said to bo improving. In tho city itself those trades are good. - Dressmaking, millinery, and bootmaking are extremely busy, and in. the former trade enough girls cannot bo got. Building trades: Good in city, but slack in the suburbs. A number of men are out of employment. An improvement is expected, as there are a number of contracts cxpcctcd to bo let shortly. Bootmaking trade: Good in all departments. One leading employer informed me that ho was as "busy as he could be." Orders continue to come. along, and a shortness of labour is reported.- _ Coachbuilding trade: Rather slack, which is usual at this time of the year. An improvement is, however, expected; with good weather the volume of trade increases. Dressmaking: Exceptionally good. The manager of a ieading firm informed mo that the month just ended has been the. best tho firm has over had, and difficulty lias been experienced in' getting hands.

Tailoring has been slack, although quite on a par with the corresponding month of last year. Engineering trades continue slack, with no immediate prospect of an improvement. Furniture trades have been fairly, busy, and all hands have been ; fully employed. Employers express themselves as 3uite satisfied with .the amount of trade oing. Woollen mills are fairly busy, and all hands are working full timo. Plumbing and gasfitting: Fairly busy,. and there aro no hands out of employment. Plastering trades are only fair, and there are a few hands out of employment. Painting trades have been very slack, and there are a number of. men out of employment. One leading employer informs me that the month just onded has been the slackest they have had. An. improvement is, however, expected, as a number of contracts aro shortly to bo let. Saddlery and harnessmaking: These trades havo been fairly good, and employers say they are perfectly satisfied with the amount of trade doing. Unskilled labour : There has been a considerable increase in the number of applicants for employment for the period just ended. The cause of the increase has been owing, to the unsuitable weather for. outside workers, also the large number of men arriving.in the city from the country districts and other parts. With tho advent of fino weather and the starting of the dairying season next month there should bo fow,. if any, unemployed. Men used to navvy, and road work can bo placed in immediate employment by tho Department on co-operativo (Government) works. Twenty-seven married and 113 single men, with sixty-one dependants, yforo found employment on public and-privato works during the month. Seventy men refused work in the country, preferring to take their chance in the city.

AUCKLAND. Trade, is in a very satisfactory condition for this season of the year, considering it is not possible for outside work to be successfully carried on in consequence of the wet weather. The loss in wages of those working outsido is, in turn, felt by the business people, as the workers' spending-power is- reduced, yet tradesmen say that trade is satisfactory and that 1 tho. outlook is very encouraging. Tho building trade is fairly busy, and, now that tho weather has taken up, those tradesmen who were idle aro gradually getting to work again. . There aro not many carpenters out of work. There are altogether about eighteen tradesmen, including carpenters, bricklayers, plasterers, and painters, out of work at pre-sent—-i.e., Union moil. Unskilled labour: The market is somovhat congested at present. For the period ending July 20, 135—viz., 24 married and 111 singlo men—were sent „£o work—viz., 86 to railway work and 49 to privato employment. There is every prospect that unskilled labour will have a tery busy time shortly, as tho drainage and street formation .works are to be put in hand soom CHRISTCHURCH. Trade during the. early part of the past month has been rather dull, except in a few trades, whero some overtime has been worked. Retailers generally complain of a scarcity of ready rnonoy. However, there has been a slight improvement during tho latter _ part of the month. Tho weatherconditions have been disastrous to the building trade, which has resulted in a large number of men being thrown temporarily out of employment, especially in cases where the work was not. sufficiently advanced, or whero the roofs of the buildings were not completed sufficiently to' enable carpenters and others to work out of tho wet. There has been considerable agitation by the unemployed during the past week or two, numbers of whom' were men incapacitated by the weather from following their usual employment, also a large number of men who had come into the town from tho country districts. There was the usual number of discontents, and those who refuse to leave the town on any account. Fortunately a number of men were wanted for the Midland Railway works, which resulted in absorbing all those anxious for employment. Tho local City Council also gave employment to a number of 1 tlioso that were unfitted for railway-work, or wero unable to leavo the town for various reasons. Agricultural implements: Thero has been a marked dullness in this trade during July. ' Sales have been slow, and orders for delivery coming to hand are not up to expectations. An ondeavour has been made to keep employees in work, but in some instances a slaokening-down took place, and men were put off in shifts. Where this took place, stocks in hand were more than sufficient to meet the-immediate demands. In some cases alvantage has been taken of the slackness to put things in order in anticipation of a rush with the advent of warmer weather. The dullness is mainly accounted for by the unusually wet weather experienced during the month of July, which prevented farmers from proceeding with all outdoor work. All branches of the trade have suffered on account of the dullness, which is expected to be only temporary. Building trades: The very wet weather experienced during the past few weeks has resulted in _ hanging up work on nearly all buildings in course of erection, and as a consequence many tradesmen have been unemployed. Carpentering work has been very slack on account of the work in many buildings not being forward enough. A number of good men are unemployed, but it is expected that, if the present good weather continues, most of these will succeed in obtaining employment shortly. Bricklaying: A number unemployed, principally on account of tho weather conditions. Plastering work: A number unemployed for same reason as bricklayers, and also on account of frost affecting outside cornice-work. Painting trade: Slack for same reasons as plasterers; wet and frost preventing most outsido work. Stonemason's work: Fairly busy; most tradesmen are fully employed. Tho local supply is equal to any likely demands. Plumbing work: An unusually slack period, especially on outside work, is reported. Tho number of applicants at tho Employment Bureau for_ all descriptions of work shows a largo increase, including many tradesmen and builders' labourers temporarily unemployed on account of the verv inclement weather. This apparently also affected a large number of farm-workers and others from the surrounding districts; a largo number of whom flocked to tho city. There were a few married men who wero unable to leave tho town, and somo old men unfittod for heavy work, who were temporarily assisted by tho City Council. Up to July. 20 10. giafila and 27. warrici juciu with_

25 dependants, were sent to employment, as follows: —10 to Government work, and 27 to privato employment. DUNEDIN. It is possible that tho month just closed has been, so far as trade is concerned, one of tho worst experienced for tho past four years. Tho contributing causes to this stato of business havo been, first, a slight depression, and, secondly, tho extremely unfavourable weather; tho latter being mainly responsible for a largo number of outdoor employees being temporarily thrown out of employment, while to a large extent it. has also been a strong factor in inducing, a number of country workers to return townwards. As a result of theso conditions a largo section of workers is rather hardpressed at present. Tradesmen employed outside havo not, owing to the same reasons, been able to mako good time, and an unusually large number of men, particularly thoso employed at building wcrk, havo been idle during tho period under review. As a sequence to this slackness amongst workers, retailors and shopkeepers generally havo felt tho effect of the spending-power of the workers being limited, and business has not been as brisk as usual. It is not anticipated thoro will be any difficulty in placing any class of willing worker iu employment, provided tho weather improves, and it is confidently expectcd that in the courso of tho ensuing month things will reach their normal level again.