LABOUR REPORTS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 689, 14 December 1909, Page 8

LABOUR REPORTS.

CONOrTIONS OF EMPLOYMENT AND '"■■■■. TRADE. The following reports on the condition of employmbnt and trade in the chief centres of the Dominion are. extracted- from tho Labour Journal issued yesterday.— " : WELLINGTON. .Trade.during the month has been fairly good generally, and an improvement in many instances has been experienced. Employers aro now more hopeful, and indications point to a continued improvement. Clothing trades have been particularly busy, and in many factories dilnculty .has been ■ experienced in getting hands. Building trades, with the exception of carpentry, still remain slack, and there aro many hands out. of work, although a slight improvement has been experienced, and the number of unemployed , has been considerably diminished. , .... ... ■ ..-, ;' ■ Braiding Trade's.—Bricklaying very, slack, with little prospect of an improvement; many hands are out of work. Carpentry and joinorr- A Tef y improvement has taken place 'J-ii 6 .'T a " e > although a number of men are still reported to bo out of .employment; there are indications of further-improvement,' and my few men should be idle during the next, few weeks. Painting and paperhanging fairly busy, and shows a great improvement; there are, however, a number of hands still unemployed. Plastering elack, with litUe prospect of an; improvement. Plumbing and gasfitting good; fair.trade being done; hands.kept fully employed. Stonemasonry fairly good; , - .-AVoodworkingTrades.—BoxraakinE very good-, factories working full time. Cabinetmaking and upholstering:. An improvement is being experienced, and fewer hands are out of work; ft still greater improvement is looked forward to. Cooperinj very good; in the course of a few weeks work, will be in full swing. Sash and door factories: Trade is very slack, with.little or nothing doing. Sawmilling: Slight improvement, although still on the slack side. Woodturning, etc.: Improvement on. last month. Engineering . Trades.—Bdileniiakiiig very slack, with no indication of an immediate impfflvomerit. . Brass and copper-smithing good; all:hands fully employed.- Electrical engineer-' ing. fair; no improvement on last month; an improvement is looked forward to. Fitting and turning very slack, with little.doing; employers have not experienced such a slack time for years.., Iron and brass moulding fairly good. Uangemaking: Very slight' improvement,-but still on 'the slack side. . ' .■' , ■ Lea'ther Trades.—Bootniaking (factories) -. very good; all! hands fully; employed. Bootmaking (repaiT-shops) very good;, plenty of work coming in. "■ Saddlery and , 'harneesmaking fairly good; steady business being done.. .: ■.Clothing Trades.—Dressmaking and millinery very tyisy, with every prospect of the briskness continuing: for .some '.time , yet : Shirtmaking ■fairly busy; and "an improvement is being;experienoed.. Tailoring (factories) 'fairly busy', some factories particularly so,.but others aro rather-.on.■ the slack side; .generally, tho trade is,good.. Tailoring (order) veiy busy;-all hands are fully employed, and employers in some instances are experiencing difficulty in ' getting hands. Woollen-milling fairly.busy; all hands fully employed. ■■• . • . Retail trades.—Clothing, . boots, drapery, groceries: Tradesmen in these particular lines report that fairly good trade is being done. Printing Trades.—Bookbinding fairly good; employers express themselves as quite satisfied wjfh the.amount of trade being done: Printing fairly good.. . . ■. . .. ~,.-, . . Meat-freezing,.etc—Tanning,, currying, and fellmongering .fairly, good; factories working full time. Slaughtering, .freezing, and preserving busy; plenty of stock comiiig in, and good wages being earned. ~..•-' : v ,■.'...■.•'.. ■"■. .Coaohbuilding; Trades.—Blacksmithinr fairly busy.:' Coach, carriage, and tram-car building fairly busy, and a slight imprcyement is ex-

.'Cycle and motor trades ..slightly 'improved,' although .not'to'anr appreciable degree. Unskilled Labour.—A decided improvement has; taken i place ■ in, the ,:dom.and-for.'unskilled labonr/:'diring the -'.past,--/month.' ' A feature, howeverj'of offering;is that it.is very, casual j .'and. in many cases men lose a: good deal -of time going from ■ one small job to another. The demand for country wbrkors has also increased considerably. , ■. '■': ■ •-'.: .-' :'•',. "-'.' : NAPIBEV '..' " -. T ' .'■''■ ■'■■ . :Thare is very little change' in.the condition, of .trade since last,mouth,: but the general., bpinibn-is'that money ; has been; slightly, tighter.., Eeports, .however, (show that, an ,im- t prbvement .' is . gradually but surely taking place, and a-greatly increased volume of trade,: wholesale • and retail,., is .anticipated during: the coming ■ month. The building trades >p-: pear to be.brightening up. During the latter end of tho month there have been several wet: , days, which has retarded shearing At present'there are'very few skilled,'artisans' unemployed,; and the numbor of' general lab-. ourers: and casuals have' been considerably feduced. The. dairying industry -in-.thi's 'district' shows steady signs of ..progress. j: ; The/pro-." spects-for- the: near futuro are certainly' moro hopeful than for some months, past. ■J ' ; .:. -NEW PLTMOOTBu -;. . ':/Xi ' A mimber : -of.:.the manufacturing. industrres show an improvement since last .report The building trades particularly are very ;busy, at present all local,labour' being fully employed.: One or two shops are being built in the town; and a number, of residences aro, in course of erection in: the suburbs. Tenders are boing called, .for the. erection of a .largo, ware-. house andianumber.of cottages, 1 and in addition, the- borough council has accepted tenders for two bridges in the .town, the price"of the latter being about <£3500. Trade, is busier thari.it has been for some months past, and with work in hand and ; offering "is likely to remain so well into new year. The various sash arid door factories and joinery works, in, sympathy' with the building trades,, are also, very busy/at: present, arid 'in'.some cases over-' time is being.worked. The demand for butter ; and cheese■ crates is also very .heavy;- All Uio sash and.door.; factories : throughout the province 'do a share of: this kind of :work,.'wnile in addition the Eltham box-factory, where thework consists . solely, of the Vmanufacture of. butter-boxes and cheese-crates, is turning, out an average of over twelve hundred butterboxes and a thousand cheese-crates per day. Tho season so far has proved very encouraging in the dairying industry; the output from , the. various factories, /both in quantity - and quality has been very satisfactory. Each successive year shows an advanced .output. : A number of really up-to-date butter-factories have been erected since last season, and great improvements have been effected in niariy of , the older-established factories. ■ -. , ! ; ■-v.'; , : :'; .'. ■ ■ '=- Trade dnring the month may bo described as very fair indeed, and several shopkeepers report - haying experienced a really good month's - business,' quite equal to that of the corresponding month of last year! The building trade 'has experienced a fair month,, but the:: immediate prospects are said to be very bright, as;tenders are now being, called' for several/fairly large jobs, and in a vory short time trade will no doubt be very busy. Tailoring is fairly busy, but the same amount of overtime as in, former years 'is ; not, being worked.. These remarks also apply to millinery and:dressmaking. ' . . •■:..-■■• "-■■..'/ PALMEESTON , NOETH. ; • Trade all round has been very-satisfactory, and there have been no complaints of any kind for_spme time_ past,. • The.'early advent of •Christmas is just now responsible for increased/activity .in' several industries, and in trades- where' wearing-apparel -'is cohcerned, overtime is being-worked in servoral places.' ■ ; ,". ; ;':.'.' Vmasterton. :' : : :. ■• .'■.-■. • 'Trade and business have maintained a fair level. Thoje is still an indication .in most trades towards continued improvement. Shear-: ing operations being in full-swing throughout, the district have, absorbed-a,great, number of operations have, however, been considerably hampered by the unsettled weather exprienced; The dairying , industry still. continnee very busy, and there ia a demand for milkers, especiall.v youths. . Tailoring and and dressmaking trades continue to be fairly busy, overtime being freely worked in. several cases. . The -building trades are not improving as well as , anticipated; on the other hand, coachbuilding, blacksmithini, and agriculturalimplbment making and repairing trades remain , firm...,.: '........"'. ':■ ■ - '.:. ■'•.-■'