THE LABOUR MARKET.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIII, Issue 118, 17 May 1909, Page 2

THE LABOUR MARKET.

. .■. . —♦— —— ;,■ ,■ . The Wellington correspondent of the Lytteltdn Times states that the' Minister for Labor, the Hon. A. W. Hogg, expressed himself in optimistic terms on the subject of labor. "I have had," he said, /'no strong representations so far wiih regard to the condition of the labor market. Undoubtedly, in the'large centres'there are a number, of: unemployed constantly to be found, but this very often arises from the fact that men come in from the country, and after spending their money find themselves in difficulties,. The country districts, which I hare passed through appear to be in a surprisingly healthy condition. I had no applications of a serious nature made to me for'work, and I formed the opinion that the workers were very well employed. During the whole of my tour of the north I failed to discover more than ' one or two men carrying swags. The expenditure on road works this season has been exceptionally large,' and the Department has been doing its best to keep both Europeans and Maoris well employed. As far as the Labor Department is concerned there is no great trouble. Wherever anything in the shape of congestion made its appearr ance the officers of the Department have been able to disperse the workers to suitable localities. The cry of want and work usually comes from the b'g centres. I found in the north an impression that the state of the labor market in Wellington was particularly bad. I endeavoured to remove that impression, pointing out that Wellington occupied a unique position, in that it is regarded as the chief centre, tg which labor from all parts of the country concentrates."