OUT OF WORK.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LV, Issue 13930, 14 June 1909, Page 2

OUT OF WORK.

Mr. D. M'Laren gave the House today some information he had gathered concerning the extent to which unemployment prevails in New Zealand. His estimate was that altogether there are about 4500 out of work in the dominion, of whom 3000 are in the larger towns and 1500 in the smaller towns and country districts. The figures for the towns he gave as follows: — Wellington 1000, Auckland 500, Christchurch 400, Dunedin 100, Invercargill 300, Timaru 100, West Coast 400, Wanganui 200. He admitted that in some cases his informants might have rather over-esti-mated the number, but in other cases they had under-estimated. Close investigation made of 199 cases in Christchurch showed that the pinch began to be acute some three months"' ago and was becoming worse instead of better. Some men had been out of work for .s long as five months and most of those who had been idle for the longer periods were immigrants who had never been able to obtain work since their arrival there. Mr. M'Laren also gave the number of men who would be thrown out of work at the Government printing office if Parliament wore to be prorogued, viz., twenty compositors, five bookbinders, and ten machinists. To show what chance they would have of obtaining employment elsewhere, he added that in Wellington there were already twenty-one compositors out of employment, fifteen in Auckland, twelve in Christchurch, and twelve in Dunedin.