LABOUR IN NEW ZEALAND.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1404, 26 January 1899, Page 15

LABOUR IN NEW ZEALAND.

Optimism is the prevailing note in the reports from the various labour districts of the colony, as given in the “ Journal of the Department of Labour.” The Auckland agent states that the engineering trade is brisker, and generally speaking “ workmen appear to be fairly well employed.* Gisborne reports brisk trade, building busy, and “not many unemployed ; ” while in the Napier report the words “busy” and “very busy” recur with pleasing frequency, followed by the note : —“The town at present is practically free from unemployed, and the country work is sufficiently plentiful to absorb all willing hands.” At Hastings “ all trades very busy ; ” Patea, “ no local men idle; ” Palmerston North, building tradesmen “in demand;” Marton, “very brisk : ” Ohingaiti, “no swaggers on the roads,” and “work plentiful in thr country;” Wanganui, ‘“very busy,” “ working overtime,” and “ fully employed ” in the different trades; Otald, “ trades all very busy; ” Pahiatua and Masterton both “ very brisk ; ” Blenheim “ farmers have had some trouble to get men ; ” Westport, “ all trades steady ; ” Recfton, “a demand for skilled minors; ” Ashburton, “ very busy ; ” Timaru, “busy,” “clothing factories working overtime ;” Waimatc, “good business,” “ about 150 young men and boys found employment during the month at. straw-berry-picking ; ” Oamaru “ all available hands employed” in building trades, both stone and timber; Dunedin, “very brisk,” “splendid business,” “all hands fully employed;” Invercargill, “brisk.” The only exceptions to the general chon's cf cord cut are Christchurch, which reports stonemasons and carpenters out of work, and boot trade “ much below normal condition ;” Wellington, where building and engineering are slack, though the boot trade shows a slight improvement; and Eketahuna, which reports building trade not very busy and boot trade “very quiet considering the time of the year.” On the whole the reports are of a most gratifying kind though in many cases the precautionary note is added that local labour is gener-1 ally equal to the demand. £