TRADE AND EMPLOYMENT.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 456, 15 March 1909, Page 6

TRADE AND EMPLOYMENT.

OFFICIAL REPORT FOR FEBRUARY. BUILDING IN WELLINGTON "VERY SLACK." Tho following is the Labour Department's report of trado and employment in Wellington during tho month of February:— WELLINGTON. Trado generally has been good during the month just ended. Building operations are still very slack, and thero aro a largo number of ©ii-pontcrs, bricklayers, find plastorors out of work. On tho other hand, clothing trades aro good, and in somo instances omployors aro experiencing difficulty in getting enough good hands. Boot trades aro also busy. Slaughtering and freezing works aro exceedingly busy.: stock of a good quality is coming in in plentiful numbers, and employees in tlieso factories aro making very good time. Iron trades aro still exceedingly slack, with no indication of an improvement. Building trades: Bricklaying still rathor on tho slack sido, with littlo cluinco of an immediate improvement; several men out of work. Carpentry and joinery slack, with no indication of an improvement; a number of men aro out of work. Painting fairly good, although thero aro several men out of work. Plastering slack; littlo or no work in hand; several'men out of work. Plumbing and gasfitting fairly good; plenty of work in hand to keep all hands fully employed. Stonemasonry fairly good, with 110 hands out of employment. Woodworking trades: Boxmaking fairly good; all hands fully employed. Cabinotmaking and upholstering: Generally speaking these trades aro dull, littlo or nothing being done; factories making up stock; thero aro, however, very few men reported 'to bo idle. Coopering good; factories working full time. Sash and door factories only fair, with 110 indication of an improvement. Sawmilling very slack, and thero aro a number of hands out of work. Wood-turning, etc., fairly good; a littlo improvement is being shown. Engineering trades: Boilermaking- still rather on the slack side, with 110 immediate prospect of an improvement. Brass and coppersmithing slack; a number of hands out of employment. Electrical engineering slack, littlo or nothing being done; a few hands are out of employment. Fitting and turning still on the slack sido, although somo factories report a slight improvement on last month. Iron and brass moulding slack; no improvement on last month. Range-making slack; 110 indication of an improvement. Leather trades: Bootmaking (factories), fairly good; plenty of orders coming along, and factories working full time. Bootmaking (repair shops)— Factories working, full time. Saddlery and harness-making fairly good, and employers express themselves quite satisfied with tho amount of trade being done. Clothing trades: Dressmaking and millinery busy; plenty of work in hand,- and factories working a good deal of overtime. Shirt-making fairly busy, and factories working full time. Tailoring (factories) fairly good, and factories i are kept working full time. Tailoring (order) fairly good, although said to be. falling off. 'Woollenmilling good; factories working full timo. Retail trades: Clothing good, and quite up, to the usual standard of corresponding month of previous years. Boots good, plenty of trade being done; Drapery good; employers exnress themselves as quite satisfied with the amount of trade doing. Groceries good. - . Printing trades: Bookbinding good; factories working full time. Printing good; all hands fully employed.

Meat-freezing, ctc. Tanning, currying, and l'ellmongering, and slaughtering, freezing, and preserving good in all departments; plenty of stock coming in, and all liandsi fully omployed. Coaclibuilding trados: Blscksraithiflg fairly good; littlo chango being shown. Coach, carriage, and tram-car building fair; not so good as employers expected for this season of tho year. Cycle and motor trades fairly good; hands still kept going, chiclly on repair work. Unskilled labour: During tho month tho averago number of callers was less than last month —due, no doubt, to tho exceptionally lino weather which bas been experienced, and tlio call for harvesters in tho country districts, Farmors liavo applied freely for labour during the period, and, despito the lateness of tho season, the demand for milkers is still insistent. Tho steamers Turakina, Athenic, and Tongariro arrived during the month, and brought a total of 1029 third-class passengers. Of this number, only 76 called at tho local offico (55 singlo arid. 21 married men) and 17 were sent to work immediately, whilst 27 had booked to other parts and merely called for information. Tho very small number of applicants is hard to explain, but_ tho main •reason is, apparently, that tho immigrants liavo friends and relations who have employment ready for tbem on landing. Ofchors, again; do not call until several weeks after arrival. Tho married applicants and single men supporting relatives have all been offered employment, if suitable, on tho Stratforrl-Huiroa Railway works. Two hundred and seventy men (95 married and 175 single) were sent to private and public work during the month. AUCKLAND. Thero is a general slackness in trade throughout tho district, and unfortunately thero are a considerable number of tradesmen and tradeswomen and labourers out of work. A variety of reasons is given for tho present depressed stato of trade, but that most generally accepted is that it is d>uo to the scarcity of ready money. Whatever the cause may bo, thero can be no doubt that trado in all its branches is depressed at present. PALMERSTON NORTH. The past month has been fairly satisfactory as regards business generally. The Longburn freezing works have been kept busy, and have taken on extra hands. Several of the sawmills have just resumed operations, which apparently shows that this industry is on tho mend. Olio or two mills are working full-handed. Tradesmen, both inside and out, are making fairly good time. MASTERTON. Thero has been practically very little improvement during tho month in tho condition of trado and business generally. Business people and tradesmen report as to tho general slackness throughout. Farming operations in the way of harvesting, otc., aro almost completed, consequently men who were thus omployed are being discharged. It is not anticipated thero will bo much demand for outside general labour in this district for some time. NAPIER. Tho period just ended has been fairly satisfactory as regards business generally, tKbugh with little improvement on last report. Trade, taken all round,' is not as encouraging as at tho corresponding period of last year, but tho retail trades are still steady. Tho manufacturing trades show no improvement since 1 last roport. Tho building trades aro practically at a standstill, while tailoring, dressmaking, and millinery work continues fairly busy, and tho engineering trado also continues fairly steady.