THE LABOUR MARKET

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 111, 11 May 1923, Page 8

THE LABOUR MARKET

:PROSPECTS FOR THE

WINTER

UNSKILLED MEN OUT OF WORK

PRESENT POSITION NOT ACUTE.

;;With;the closing down of seasonal industries; and the. advent of winter, employment is becoming leas plentiful, but present indications point to the position not being so acute as it was at this time last year. The building trades are very busy just now, and there are few carpenters, bricklayers, plasterers, painters, or paperhangera out {if; jjjjrit.' Plumbers are not slack either, »nd -theTheavy rain of the past few days-has-brought to light many a leak, c&wnn|f a sudden accretion in the volume of "roof- -repairs necessary. It's an ill wind'that brings nobody any good, and it's'■&' miserably small leak that does not bring a job to a plumber. Should there 1 be anything like a reasonable spell of'fine s weather, plumbers will have plenty to do, with fairly good prospects "for^more after the next big storm. Efriin "complaints about defective roofs, •whetheri! ;6f iron, tiles, or slates, heard abou]b"-town this week, it would appear as if the plumbing trade is in for ar.boomV's i

Unskilled workers, however, as is always the cas», are likely to be sufferers again^this winter. On the books of the Lftbirar Department at the end of last iweefc appeared the names of 83 men who described themselves as labourers, but 11 'stated that they were able to do only light work. In all probability the bulk:of these men have not been accustomed to labouring work, but, being unskilled,, have signified their readiness" to accept any kind of employment" offering. Altogether, the Department'had 191 men on its books last week, which was about a hundred less than for;the previous week, and a reduction of 161 on the figures for the corresponding week of last year. The classification of those who recorded their names is as follows, the figures of the number out of work also being given:—Labourers 83, cooks and stewards 19, farm hands 13, bacon curer 1, boilermaker 1, boot finisher 1, butchers 2, chair^maker 1, clerks 8, coppersmith 1, drivers 6, engine-driver 1, engineers 10,' gardener 1, hairdresser 1, married couples 2, coal-miners 6, masseur 1, motor mechanics 4, plumber (unlicensed) I,:letterpress feeder 1, saddler 1, sawyer 1, seamen and firemen 7, slater and tiler 1, slaughtermen 2, shop assistants (drapery,- etc.) 4, storemen and warehousemen' 9, and tea blender 1. Employers;who'desire to obtain the services of any men- should communicate with the Labour Department, which is anxious to place in employment the men whose names appear on its unemployment books." "

The-president of the Trades and Labour Council, Mr. John Bead, stated to-, day; that the council had not considered the employment question since the improvement in the general position had taken place during the summer months, but" ha'added that if there was a recurrence of the unemployment irduble on a scale-similar to that of last year—it was' hbped~jtha.t this,: would not be 'so— there ;was no doubt that the council would take-stepg to press the Government to help relieve the situation at the earliest possible moment. Ab secretary of the Engine-drivers' Union, Mr. Read said that the unemployment posi-; tion was not as bad just now aB it was a; few months ago, and in the timber industry also the prospects were far bitter than they had been for a considerable period. So far as Wellington was concerned, there were probably more permanent men employed in the timber trade at the present time than had ever been the case previously, and this indicated, of course, that the building trade was active.