LABOUR DEMAND

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26200, 10 July 1946, Page 6

LABOUR DEMAND

SHORTAGES IN CITIES END OF SEASONAL WORK LITTLE EFFECT ON POSITION (P.A.) WELLINGTON, July 9. The overall employment position throughout New Zealand had remained marKediy ouoyant in spite of a further tapenng-off during June of such activity as killing operations in freezing works, said tne Minister of Industrial Man-power, Mr A. McLagan, tonight. The Minister added that the number of disengaged males Had increased by only 81 from 486 at the end of May, to 567 to the end of June, which was a much smaller increase than had previously been estimated would occur about this time.after making allowance for the cessation of seasonal activities. With an estimated male labour force in all industries of 480,000, the Minister said, the male rate of unemployment stood at the very low level of 0.12 per cent., notwithstanding the demobilisation between V-J Day, August 15, 1945, and June 15, 1946, of 83,813 service personnel and the revocation of all industrial man-power controls. The number of disengaged females, the Minister said, remained much the same, with 28 recorded at the end of May and 26 at the end of June. Notified vacancies for males over the country as a whole had increased from 7288 at the end of May to 8056 at the end of June, and for females from 11,630 to 11,735 respectively. The overall total of notified vacancies represented an increase of 873 during June and 2756 during the end of March. Of the male vacancies, 3886 were for skilled men, 2920 for unskilled men, and 1250 for juveniles. The corresponding figures for females were 3655 for skilled, 4996 for unskilled, and 3084 for juveniles. The largest demand for men was in building and construction, with 2014 vacancies, followed by 1686 in engineering and allied industries, including the railway workshops. The largest numbers of women were required in clothing factories, with 4046 vacancies, hospitals (13761. and hotels and catering (726). Of 8056 male vacancies, 6414 were concentrated in six employment districts—Auckland, Hamilton, Lower Hutt, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin. Of 11,735 female notified vacancies, 10,435 occurred in the same districts. Mr McLagan said that the most marked shortages had occurred in the main urban districts. There were, however, several districts where be-tween-season employment had always been a difficult problem, but in these districts, although no substantial difficulties had appeared this winter, very little, if any, work was at present offering for unskilled and semi-fit men. The presence of small surpluses of labour in these districts, due to the end of seasonal activities, made it possible to put in hand, to the limited extent of the numbers available, some of the priority projects included in the national works programme.