REPORT OF THE NATIONAL SERVICE DEPARTMENT ON ACTIVITIES UNDER THE NATIONAL SERVICE EMERGENCY REGULATIONS 1940 AND THE INDUSTRIAL MAN-POWER EMERGENCY REGULATIONS 1944

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1946 Session I, H-11a

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1946 NEW ZEALAND

REPORT OF THE NATIONAL SERVICE DEPARTMENT ON ACTIVITIES UNDER THE NATIONAL SERVICE EMERGENCY REGULATIONS 1940 AND THE INDUSTRIAL MAN-POWER EMERGENCY REGULATIONS 1944

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency

National Service Department, Wellington, 28th June, 1946. The Hon. the Minister of National Service. Sir,— I have the honour to submit the following report on the activities of the National Service Department during the twelve months ended 31st March, 1946. I have, &c., H. L. Bockett, Director of National Service and Controller of Man-power.

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CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION .. .. .. 5 PART I.—THE ADMINISTRATION OF NATIONAL SERVICE DURING THE FINAL STAGES OF WAR AND THE ENSUING DEMOBILIZATION PERIOD SECTION I.—RESUME OF THE POSITION AT 31st MARCH, 1945 .. .. .. .. .. 6 SECTION lI.—RESUME OF MAJOR EVENTS AND POLICY DECISIONS OVER THE TWELVE MONTHS ENDING ON 31st MARCH, 1946 (i) Military .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 7 (ii) Industrial Man-power .. .. .. ~ .. 8 SECTION lII.—ADMINISTRATION—(i) Administrative Developments .. .. .... 9 (ii) Staff employed .. .. .. .. 10 (iii) Appreciation .. .. .. .. .. .. 11 SECTION IV.—FINANCE AND EXPENDITURE—(i) Administration Expenses .. .. .. 11 (ii) War Expenses Account .. 11 (iii) National Employment Service .. .. .. 13 PART lI.—MILITARY MOBILIZATION SECTION I—STRENGTH AND CASUALTIES—(i) Total Strengths .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 15 (ii) Casualties .. .. .. .. .. .. .16 SECTION lI.—VOLUNTEERING AND BALLOTING—(i) Volunteering .. .. .. .. 17 (ii) Balloting .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 17 (iii) J Force and Interim Air Force and Army .. .. 17 SECTION lII.—MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS—(i) Total Persons examined .. .. .. .. .. 18 (ii) Ballot Yields .. .. .. .. .. 19 SECTION IV.—TOTAL MAN-POWER INTAKE OF THE FORCES—(i) Cumulative Intake of all Service Arms .. .. 19 (ii) Comparative Intake of the Three Service Arms .. 20 SECTION v.—APPEALS AGAINST MILITARY SERVICE—(i) The Screening of Man-power .. .. .. .. .. 20 (ii) The Activities of Man-power Committees 20 (iii) The Activities of Armed Forces Appeal Boards .. 21 (iv) Men held under Appeal .. .. .. 22 (v) The Activities of Man-power Officers .. 22 SECTION VI.—RELEASES FROM THE ARMED FORCES—(i) Releases up to VJ Day .. .. .. 22 (ii) General Demoblization .. .. 23 SECTION VII.—CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS AND DEFAULTERS—(i) The Problem of Conscientious Objection .. .. 24 (ii) The Treatment of Conscientious Objectors .. 24 (iii) The Special Tribunal .. .. 25 (iv) Defaulters' Detention .. .. .. .. 25 SECTION VIII.—WOMAN'S AUXILIARY SERVICES—(i) The Establishment of Women's Auxiliary Services .. 28 (ii) The Women's War Service Auxiliary .. 28 (iii) The Women's Auxiliary Air Force .. .. 29 (iv) The Women's Auxiliary Army Corps 29 (v) The Women's Royal Naval Service .. 29 SECTION IX.—CONTROL OF DEPARTURES FROM NEW ZEALAND 29

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CONTENTS—continued PART 111. —INDUSTRIAL MOBILIZATION AND GENERAL ACTIVITIES SECTION I.—INDUSTRIAL MOBILIZATION OVER THE WAR YEARS— Page (i) Early Effects of Military Mobilization .. ..... .. .. 30 (ii) Introduction of Man-power Controls .. .. .. .. 30 (iii) Declarations of Essentiality .. .. .. .. .. .. 31 (iv) Registration for and Direction to Work of National Importance .. .. 31 (v) Restrictions on Engagement of Labour .. .. 32 (vi) Notification of Termination of Employment in Non-essential Work .. .. .. 33 (vii) Industrial Absenteeism Control .. .. 33 (viii) Industrial Man-power Appeal Committees .. .. .. .. 33 (ix) Man-power Utilization Councils and Committees .. .. .. 34 (x) Industrial Medical Boards .. .. .. .. .. .. 34 (xi) Prosecutions .. .. .. .. .. 34 SECTION lI.—INDUSTRIAL PRIORITIES AND POLICY—(i) Variability of Priorities .. .. .. .. .. .. 35 (ii) Farming .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 35 (iii) Sawmilling .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 37 (iv) Building and Construction .. .. .. .. ... .. 39 (v) Coal-mining .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 41 (vi) Transport and Communications .. .. .. .. .. 42 (vii) Clothing and Woollen Manufacture .. .. .. .. 46 (viii) Hospitals and Sanatoria .. .. .. .. .. 48 (ix) Seasonal Industries .. .. .. .. .. 50 (x) Engineering .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 54 (xi) Miscellaneous .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 56 SECTION lII.—RELAXATION OF CONTROLS—(i) Broad Programme of Relaxations .. .. .. .. 57 (ii) Revocation of Declarations of Essentiality .. .. .. .. 58 (iii) Relaxation of other Man-power Controls .. .. .. 60 (iv) Controls still operating at 31st March, 1946 .. .. .. .. 62 SECTION IV. THE MAORI WAR EFFORT .. .. .. .. .. 62 SECTION V.-THE WOMEN'S LAND SERVICE .. .. 63 SECTION VI.—GENERAL ACTIVITIES .. .. ..64. (i) Employment Promotion .. .. .. .. .. 64 (ii) Camps and Hostels .. .. .. .. .. .. 65 (iii) Immigration .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 66 PART IV.—EMPLOYMENT LEVELS SECTION I.—EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT IN RETROSPECT—(i) Data available on Past Trends and Experiences .. .. .. .. 67 (ii) Developments Prior to the Inter-war Period .. .. .. 68 (iii) The Inter-war Period .. 69 SECTION lI.—EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT DURING THE WAR, 1939-1945 (i) Total Labour Force !. .. .. .. .. .. .. 75 (ii) Distribution of Labour Force .. .. .. 75 (iii) Increased Use of Female Labour .. .. .. 75 (iv) Dissipation of the Hard Core of Unemployment .. .. 76 (v) Depletion of the Less Essential Services .. .. .. 76 (vi) Difficulties in the Farming Industry .. .. ' 76 (vii) Position in other Primary Industries .. 76 (viii) Deferment of Building and Construction Work 77 (ix) Transport and Communication seriously affected .. .. .. .. 77 (x) Professional Services and Government and Local Authority Administration 77 (xi) Wholesale and Retail Distribution, Financial Institutions, &c. .. 77 (xii) Growth of Secondary Industry retarded .. 78 (xiii) Comparative Stability of Female Labour in Secondary Industries .. 79 (xiv) Cumulative Effects .. .. 81 SECTION lII.—DISTRICT BY DISTRICT EMPLOYMENT POSITION OVER THE TWELVE MONTHS 82

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CONTENTS —continued PART V. —EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION AND OUTLOOK Page SECTION I.—FOUNDATION INFORMATION AND MONTH TO MONTH STATISTICS .. 101 SECTION II. —SPECIAL SURVEYS — (i) Need for Special Surveys .. .. .. .. 102 (ii) Special Surveys prior to 31st March, 1943 .. 102 (iii) Special Surveys between April, 1943, and March, 1945 .. .. 102 (iv) Special Surveys since Ist April, 1945 .. .. .. 103 (v) Survey of Employment Prospects .. .. - • 104 (vi) Survey of Employment for the Coming Winter .. .. .. .. 104 SECTION lII.—POST-WAR EMPLOYMENT RETURNS(i) Vacancies .. .. .. .. • • • • • • • ■ 104 (ii) Disengaged Persons .. .. •. . • ■ • • • 105 (iii) Placements .. • • • • • • 105 (iv) Over-all Position .. .. .. .. .. 105 SECTION IV.—NECESSITY FOR WIDER EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION—(i) The Changing Outlook on Unemployment .. . - 106 (ii) Full Employment under Wartime Controls .. • ■ 106 (iii) The Function of Employment Information .. .. 106 (iv) The National Aspect of Full Employment .. . • 107 (v) Information to give a Full Picture of the Employment Position .. .. .. 107 SECTION V.—THE EMPLOYMENT ACT, 1945 . . • ■ • • • • . . 108 SECTION VI.—THE EMPLOYMENT (INFORMATION) REGULATIONS 1946 . . . . . . . . 108 SECTION VII.—ESTABLISHMENT OF A NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT SERVICE . . . . . . 109 SECTION VIII.—FULL EMPLOYMENT IN PROSPECT . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 PART VI.—THE HOME AID SERVICE APPENDICES Appendix A. —Population and Employment .. .. .. .. .. .. 115 Appendix B. —Statistical Tables.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 118

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INTRODUCTION 1. This report, covering the twelve months from Ist April, 1945, to 31st March, 1946, is also the final report of the National Service Department. The Department was established in July, 1940, as a wartime administration to deal with wartime mobilization of personnel —initially mobilization for military service, but later including mobilization for industrial service and control over inflows and outflows of industrial personnel. By 31st March, 1946, its wartime tasks were virtually at an end, although a few phases of its administration will necessarily continue for some months after this date. The winding-up of even these last few phases was already in train at the end of the twelve months under review. 2. This report, therefore, serves three purposes. It records the activities of the Department over the twelve months. In addition, as a winding-up report, it records briefly the over-all achievements of the Department during its period of operation. Finally, it introduces the plans and the outlook for the very different peacetime personnel activities which are already succeeding it. 3. Commencing with a brief survey of the position, both military and industrial, which confronted the Department on Ist April, 1945, the report sets out briefly the major policy decisions over the ensuing twelve months as these affected the Department's activities. Then follows an account of the administrative set-up of the Department during those twelve months, and its finance and expenditure. 4. Having thus traversed the broad background of events and the administrative set-up of the Department, the report proceeds with a survey of the position regarding military mobilization for the twelve months as against a background of the war period as a whole. This is followed by a survey of the position regarding industrial mobilization. 5. Up to this point —i.e., the end of Part lll—the report deals with a stewardship that has already become largely of historical interest only. The war, with its military and industrial mobilization measures, is finished with except in so far as it leaves some legacy—both of difficulties and of knowledge gained —for the peace. Since the end of hostilities the emphasis has changed from mobilization to employment. 6. The report, in its later parts, therefore surveys the post-war employment field entered during the period as against the background of the pre-war employment position and the effects of war on that position. Having traversed the employment field, it deals with legislation already on the statute-book for the better administration of employment matters within a Government policy of full employment and with the National Employment Service coming into operation on Ist April, 1946. 7. Finally, the report gives an account of the establishment within the twelve months under review of a Home Aid Service to be administered conjointly with the National Employment Service upon the establishment of the latter. 8. Appendix A briefly sets out the main features of population changes as affecting the Department's activities. Appendix B, in various charts and tables, provides statistical elaboration of the subject-matter of the various parts of the report.

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PART I.—THE ADMINISTRATION OF NATIONAL SERVICE DURING THE FINAL STAGES OF WAR AND THE ENSUING DEMOBILIZATION PERIOD SECTION I.—RESUME OF THE POSITION AT 31st MARCH, 1945 9. In proceeding to review the Department's activities over the period of twelve months ending on 31st March, 1946, it is well to glance first at the broad features of* the position confronting the Department on the threshold of that period—i.e., on 31st March, 1945. 10. At that point 56,000 men and women were serving in the Armed Forces overseas, together with 43,000 serving within New Zealand, a total of 99,000. The whole of the 3rd (Pacific) Division, numbering some 18,000, had been returned to the Dominion by the end of 1944, the majority of the men for direction to high priority employment, but a few for transfer to the Middle East. The advantages which industry gained from the return of these men had, however, been reduced to someextent by the introduction of the 2nd (Middle East) Division replacement scheme whereby veterans of the 2nd Division who had served overseas for three years or more were to be given the opportunity of returning to New Zealand. In the first three months of 1945 some 5,000 Category " A " men had been withdrawn from industry as replacements for the men returning from the Middle East. Owing to accumulated leave (which delayed the re-entry of the latter to industry for approximately three months after arrival) and also to the fact that the returning men were not able to(nor compelled to) fill the identical positions vacated by the replacement draft personnel, industry had not recouped itself fully for the loss of the latter men. Nevertheless, by the end of March some 9,800 veterans had arrived in New Zealand. The finding of further replacements for these men in order to keep the Division overseas at full strength therefore presented a somewhat difficult problem. The Armed Forces Appeal Boards had been required since November, 1944, to undertake a thorough and' rigorous review of the cases of all Category " A " men held under appeal in their districts, and to this end release targets had been set to guide the Boards. 11. Although by March it was apparent that Germany could not continue her resistance for any great length of time the probable date of her capitulation was stilluncertain. There could, as yet, be no slackening in the military or industrial war effort, and further directions into the high priority industries (including hospitals,., sawmilling, coal-mining, dairy factories, and freezing works) were inevitable. By the end of March, 1945, the cumulative total of males and females placed under compulsory direction to work of national importance who had complied with the direction reached 117,081 and 32,452 respectively. The coverage of declarations of essentiality had similarly continued to increase, until by that date a peak of 255,000 persons were employed in undertakings covered by declarations. The war effort had continued at a prolonged peak of intensity, reductions in military mobilization since September, 1942, having been counter-balanced by increasing industrial requirements and a rising intensity of industrial mobilization. Among the major problems facing industry in March 1945 were : (a) the urgent need for the continuing expansion of exports of foodstuffs to Great Britain and to the United Nations Forces in the Pacific ; (b) the greatly increased demands of the Armed Forces on the industries of clothing, footwear, woollen manufacture, and engineering ; and (e) the incessant calls for more production for essential civilian needs as the cumulative effects of prolonged shortages became more pronounced. 12. The exceptional demand of industry for labour was reflected in vacanciesrecorded and in the figures relating to persons in receipt of unemployment benefit. Unemployment in March, 1945, had reached a record low level of 200, all of whom were marginal or semi-employable workers. Vacancies recorded had reached the high figure of 6,590 for males and 4,792 for females in essential industries alone. The placement of fit ex-servicemen in suitable employment in industry was presenting no difficulties in view of the extremelv wide selection of vacancies.

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13. At the end of March, 1945, the year ahead therefore appeared fraught with difficulties as well as hopes. The strain, of the Dominion's war effort had reached its greatest tension. The acute labour position in industry, combined with the extreme demands upon industry, meant that further redistribution of labour resources through man-power controls had to be faced, even though the comb-out of resources of manpower for redistribution had reached very near to the point of exhaustion in some areas. The immediate problems to be faced were thus extremely difficult. As against them was the known certainty of victory in Europe at no unduly prolonged date and the prospect of a return then of at least a large part of New Zealand's Forces from Europe and of a consequent measure of relief in the industrial field. SECTION lI.—RESUME OF MAJOR EVENTS AND POLICY DECISIONS OVER THE TWELVE MONTHS ENDED 31st MARCH, 1946 (i) Military 14. In the military sphere two events, of course, predominate—the defeat of 'Germany on Bth May, 1945, and the more unexpected collapse and surrender of Japan on 15th August, 1945. The main policy decisions affecting departmental activities ■during the twelve months under review turn upon these two events. 15. On Ist April, 1945, the comb-out of Category " A " men held in industry under .appeal was continuing. This was in line with the decision taken by the Government in September, 1944, to continue to reinforce the Middle East Division until the end of the European War, but to introduce immediately a replacement scheme whereby men who had completed three years' service overseas would be returned to New Zealand and would be replaced overseas by Category " A " men still held in industry. 16. In view of the priority needs of Army for personnel to complete the numbers required for the replacement drafts it was arranged that the intake of recruits into Air Force and Navy would be restricted during the early part of 1945 to persons under the age of twenty years and six months who had volunteered for service in Air Force or Navy, and that consideration would later be given to making up any deficiency in the numbers required by these Services from Category " A " personnel after the needs of Army for the replacement drafts had been assured. Due to the intervention of YE Day, however, it was not necessary to give further consideration to increasing the number of men to be made available to Air Force and Navy. 17. The German surrender, less,than a month after the departure of the 15th Reinforcements, did not bring the review of appeals to an immediate and complete halt, but the process continued only on a greatly reduced scale. Meantime discussions proceeded between the New Zealand Government and the authorities overseas as to the further use to be made of the 2nd N.Z.E.F. 18. In the middle of July Government announced that no more Category " A " farm workers whose appeals had been dismissed would be mobilized by Army until they could be replaced in their existing employment. 19. During the period between YE Day and the beginning of August the Middle East (Second) Division replacement scheme continued to be implemented. It became -obvious, however, that it would no longer be necessary to maintain a full Army Division for employment against Japan and at the same time maintain current Air Force and Navy commitments. A regrouping of Forces involving the reduction of the overseas ■division to two brigades and a substantial reduction in the numerical strength of Air Force and Navy personnel became possible and was announced by the Right Hon. the Prime Minister on the 2nd August. 20. With the defeat of Japan two questions called for and were given immediate ■decision. The first question was, What to do with the 16th Reinforcements then awaiting •embarkation for overseas ? And the second was, What substantial reduction in the numerical strength of the other Forces could be immediately agreed upon ? Government's

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military advisers agreed that the 16th Reinforcements could largely be returned to industry and that only a small proportion, consisting of a limited number of young men, would require to be retained meantime in each military district. Simultaneously with the disbandment of the 16th Reinforcements a large-scale demobilization of the Forces was decided upon. It was later decided that only one brigade of some 4,000* men and one Air Force Fighter Squadron of some 240 men would be required for participation in the occupation of Japan. In September the Hon. the Minister of National Service announced that, pending revocation of the relative Proclamations, it would not be necessary for further enrolments in the General Reserve to be effected. On Ist December the revocation of the various Proclamations calling for enrolment in the several classes of the General Reserve took effect. 21. In January, 1946, it was decided that the personnel of the occupation force for Japan should serve for a limited period of six months onlyand should be replaced by a volunteer Force to be raised in New Zealand, and known as J Force. As this Forcewas to be a volunteer one and strictly limited in size it was not considered that thereshould be any undue interference with the right of civilians to volunteer. Nevertheless,, it was considered undesirable that men engaged in such key industries as coal-mining,, timber, and sawmilling, which were seriously short of labour, should be mobilized. Army agreed not to mobilize men from these industries and also not to mobilize any exceptionally key men in other vital industries. To give effect to this policy District Man-power Officers screened a very limited number of men. 22. The numerical reductions in personnel envisaged by Navy were so great that the number of men required for short service in the Navy was too small to seriously affect industry. Moreover, the types of men volunteering for six-year or twelve-year terms with the Navy were such that they had obviously chosen naval service for a career. It therefore appeared that interference with further volunteer enlistmentsin the Navy would not to be justified, and consequently no departmental action was taken to screen further volunteers for naval service. The Royal New Zealand Air Force obtained approval from Government for the raising of an Interim Air Forceof 2,500 men. After discussion by Cabinet, the National Service Department wasauthorized to screen enlistments in the Interim Air Force on the same basis as enlistments for the J Force. No difficulties have been encountered during the screening, and volunteers are being obtained without serious embarrassment to industry. (ii) Industrial Man-power 23. Decisions regarding industrial man-power policy also followed the trend of events in the war theatres. In June, 1945, when the defeat of Germany had brought large-scale demobilization into close prospect, the decision was taken that National Service should take over from the Rehabilitation Department the placement of all ex-servicemen at the stage at which they were finished with remedial treatment or trade training (if any) and were seeking ordinary civilian vacancies. The work was undertaken in close continuing liaison with the Rehabilitation Department and its variousCommittees. 24. The defeat of Germany also led to decisions regarding man-power controls.. In May, 1945, it was decided to commence a progressive review of all declarations of essentiality applying wartime man-power controls to various industries and individual undertakings. The first revocations were made on 30th June, 1945, by which time a schedule of progressive revocations had been provisionally adopted (see Part 111, Section 111 (ii)). 25. The decision to revoke declarations was accompanied by a decision to exempt certain limited classes of people from various man-power obligations. This exemption was announced on 30th June, 1945. Following the surrender of Japan, it was decided that the exempted classes should be very considerably widened, and this was announced on 18th August.

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26. Between Ist September and 31st March, 1946 (apart from the rapid and steady fulfilment of the decisions already taken regarding the relaxing of man-power controls), the Government also announced the revocation of the Opticians' Employment Order, "the Dentists' Employment Order, and the Employment Restriction Order. 27. In July, 1945, a scheme was introduced, in conjunction with the Royal New Society for the Health of Women and Children, by which the Department would assist the Society in setting up and maintaining local offices in various places through -which all engagements of Karitane nurses would henceforth be arranged. This scheme -was introduced to secure a more effective use of the services of these nurses. 28. In July, 1945, it was decided to take a survey of employment prospects over the whole field of industry in order to obtain an employment budget setting out factually the employment movements likely to be involved in the transition from wartime to peacetime conditions. This survey was carried out in September and October. 29. The above events and decisions are the main ones affecting departmental activities during the twelve months under review. The activities arising out of the -decisions taken are described in subsequent sections of this report. SECTION lII.—ADMINISTRATION (i) Administrative Developments 30. With the cessation of hostilities during the year the need for Armed Forces Appeal Boards ceased and they were disbanded. Chairmen and members of Boards had carried out a most difficult task during the war years and to a large extent the maintenance of an appropriate balance between military and industrial man-power requirements depended throughout upon their appreciation of the constantly changing •circumstances of the war situation and their co-operation and support in carrying out the equally changing policy necessary to meet those circumstances. It is fitting to place •on record here appreciation of the work done by Chairmen, members, deputy members, and staff of Armed Forces Appeal Boards.. The cessation of hostilities further enabled reductions in staff directly connected with ballots and records to be effected. 31. The progressive relaxation of man-power controls resulting in a decline in the volume of man-power activities also enabled a reduction in staff engaged on this work. In reducing staff the general policy (subject to some exceptions in special cases) was to reduce in the following categories in the order set out: — Married women : Persons over sixty years of age : Single women. Where it was possible, the officers affected were transferred to other Government Departments, seconded officers being returned to their parent Departments. Of the thirty-six seconded officers at Ist April, 1945, thirty-three were occupying controlling positions, and all rendered sterling service during a very trying period. At 31st March, 1946, only five remained on secondment. 32. In March, 1946, the Department was reorganized as the National Employment Service. Positions were advertised throughout the Public Service, the appointments being made as at 30th March, 1946, in readiness for the new Department to -commence its peacetime activities on Ist April, 1946. 33. The majority of the staff who were serving with the Forces had returned by 31st March, 1946. Staff returning from the Forces have all been personally interviewed •on return, and a continuing interest in their rehabilitation has been taken. Various staff-training schemes had been drawn up so that the returned personnel could make up the lost experience quickly.

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(ii) Staff employed 34. The following tables analyse the male and female permanent and temporary staff of the Department as at 31st March of the current year and staff changes during, the year ended 31st March, 1946.

Analysis of Staff as at 31st March, 1946 Staff employed as at 31st March, 1946

Net Reductions in Staff between 1st April, 1945, and 31st March, 1946 (not including Home Aid Service)

Analysis of Staff as at 31st March, 1946

Officers absent with the Forces Number of officers absent with Forces at 31st March, 1945 .. .. .. 82 Resumed duty between Ist April, 1945, and 31st March, 1946 .. .. 40 Returned from service and granted leave without pay for rehabilitation purposes .. 10 50 Number of officers still absent in the Forces at 31st March, 1946 .. 32

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— Males. Females. Total. Head Office 53 37 90 District offices 333 169 502 Detention camps 44 2 46 Home Aids 45 45 Totals 430 253 683

Males. Females. Total. Head Office 2 57 59 District offices 72 200 272 Detention camps 83 3 86 Totals 157 260 417

Total at Variation since Slst March, 1946. 1st April, 1945. Permanent employees (males), not including officers with 117 - 10 Forces, &c. Temporary male employees, apart from detention staff 268 - 64 Temporary female employees engaged in interviewing and 135 -188 clerical duties Temporary female typists 72 - 69 Detention camp staff 46 - 86 638 -417 Home Aids 45 + 45 Total staff 683 -372

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(iii) Appreciation 35. Opportunity is taken to record appreciation of the excellent service rendered, during a difficult year, by the staffs of the Head Office and district offices of the Department. Members of the staff generally have applied themselves unsparingly to their duties, notwithstanding that long hours and constantly varying problems have been the rule. In particular, thanks are expressed to District Man-power Officers for the contribution they have made to the carrying-out of an emergency task of extreme difficulty. The most helpful co-operation of Industrial Man-power Appeal Committees and of the members of other auxiliary bodies associated with the Department is gratefully trecorded. SECTION IV.—FINANCE AND EXPENDITURE (i) Administration Expenses (£297,277) 36. The administration expenses of the National Service Department are subject to annual appropriation by Parliament in terms of the Public Revenues Act, 1926, and •continued provision was made for this expenditure to be met in the first instance from the Consolidated Fund under vote, " National Service." 37. It will be observed that the net expenditure during the year ended 31st March, 1946, was £297,277, as compared with £348,962 the previous year, a reduction of .£51,685. This decrease, of course, reflects the reduction in the activities of the Department after the cessation of hostilities. 38. With the exception of miscellaneous recoveries and an assessed amount of £70,000 recovered from the new vote, " National Employment Service," for administration incurred in connection with promotion of employment, Public Service hostels, and the Home Aid Service, the net expenditure under vote, " National Service," was finally recovered from War Expenses Account, Subdivision IY, Civil. 39. The amount of £297,277 shown above was the actual net charge to War Expenses Account during the year ended 31st March, 1946, for administration expenses, And against this amount must be credited the sum of £242 received from the disposal of surplus assets. (ii) War Expenses Account (£552,918) 40. Apart from certain expenditure detailed below under vote, " National Employment Service," all other expenditure of the Department not provided for under vote, " National Service," is met direct from War Expenses Account, Subdivision IV, Civil. 41. An overall reduction of £26,436 in expenditure from War Expenses Account was effected during the year ended 31st March, 1946, as compared with the previous year. With the exception of industrial mobilization, against which a considerable sum for capital costs in connection with workers' camps and war workers' hostels and increases in other items were charged, expenditure was reduced under each heading. Expenditure from War Expenses Account is now dealt with in detail, while the first table at the end of this section summarizes the expenditure under all headings. (a) Defaulters' Detention Camps (£91,412) 42. The expenditure under this heading includes the net capital and operating •costs of the camps. Capital expenditure during the year amounted to £3,368, and the balance, £88,044, represents operating costs. When examining costs, however, allowance must be made for the very considerable quantity of work carried out for other •Government Departments by defaulter labour. With a smaller number of defaulters available during the year, the value of the work performed was £35,712, against which -a cash recovery of £16,653 was credited to War Expenses Account. As certain claims had not been met by 31st March, 1946, and as a final valuation of the work done was

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not possible in every case, a full cash recovery was not effected. It will be seen r however, from the following statement that the net cost to Government funds for operating the detention camps was £68,985 for the year : £ Operating costs .. .. .. .. -.. .. .. 104,697' Less cash recoveries from other Departments on account of work performed .. .. .. .. .. 16,653 88,044 Less value of work performed for other Departments not yet recovered 19,059' Net operating charge to Government funds .. .. £68,985 43. Against the total net cost of £91,412, including capital and operational charges, must be credited the sum of £3,110 received from the disposal of surplus assets. (b) Emergency Fire Service (£4,037) 44. As stated in the previous year's annual report, the Emergency Fire Service as a separate entity no longer exists. The gross expenditure during the year ended 31st March, 1946, amounted to £22,042, the main items in which were £13,614 for motor-trucks purchased in previous years and £5,814 paid in subsidies to brigade controlling authorities in Auckland and Wellington for the fire protection of buildings containing war stores. The gross, expenditure was offset by recoveries amounting to> £18,005, including the sum of £16,415, being adjustments in the hose accounts between Ministry of Supply, the High Commissioner's Office, and this Department. Against the net expenditure of £4,037 should be offset the sum of £2,380 received from the sale of surplus assets. (c) Emergency Precautions Scheme (£17,605) 45. While the Emergency Precaution Scheme is no longer in operation, subsidy amounting to £14,448 was paid to E.P.S. organizations during the year. In the main,, this figure covered outstanding claims from the previous year, but it was also necessary to subsidize the current expenses of the Auckland and Wellington organizations which were still engaged in disposing of subsidized stores and equipment. The sum of £42,396 received from the disposal of surplus assets should be offset against the net expenditure of £17,605 shown above. (d) Home Guard 46. The figures shown in the table under this heading cover the expenditure incurred by the Department for the Home Guard from the time of its inception to 31st July,. 1941, when the control was transferred to the Army Department. % (e) Industrial Mobilization (£118,844) 47. The main items of expenditure under this heading were payment of financial assistance (£22,207), travelling-expenses (£16,682), loss of earnings (£1,435), and separation allowances (£27,526) to workers directed under the Industrial Man-power Emergency Eegulations, 1944, to essential undertakings ; reimbursement of travellingexpenses (£699) to members of Man-power Utilization Councils and Committees; establishment charges (£18,857) in connection with workers' camps at Auckland ; and furniture and equipment (£25,439) supplied in previous years to the war workers* hostels in the Hutt Valley and Wellington.

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(/) Women's Land Service (£24,046) 48. The main items of expenditure under this heading were uniforms and equipment (£9,857), uniform upkeep allowance (£14,067), travel concessions (£3,590), and subsidy (£795) paid to employers for the training of inexperienced girls. (g) Women's War Service Auxiliary (£197) 49. The expenditure under this heading covered outstanding claims for uniforms and badges. As against this, £36 was received from the disposal of surplus equipment. (iii) National Employment Service (£182,020) 50. With the enactment of the Employment Act, 1945, the establishment of a new vote within the Consolidated Fund to provide for the expenditure of the National Employment Service became necessary. Consequently, provision was made in the supplementary estimates last year for the new vote, " National Employment Service." During the year ended 31st March, 1946, expenditure was incurred under the following items : (a) Salary of Director of Employment (£408) 51. The Director of National Service assumed also the duties of Director of Employment, and the above amount represents the portion of his salary chargeable against the National Employment Service. (b) Administration Expenses (£70,000) 52. As explained in Part (i) above, this amount was assessed as the proportion of administration expenses met by vote, " National Service " in the first instance in connection with the National Employment Service and subsequently recovered by that vote. (c) Home Aid Service (£614) 53. The gross amount spent under this item was £1,375, including the sum of £325 for uniforms for Home Aids. The gross direct cost of operating the Service, excluding uniforms, was therefore £1,050, against which £758 was recovered from householders who were supplied with the services of the Aids. This leaves a net direct operational charge of £292, which is accounted for in the main by the reduction of charges to necessitous cases. Including the sum of £3zs for uniforms, the net charge to the Department for the Home Aid Service to 31st March, 1946, was £614. (d) Public Service Hostels (£4,368) 54. The expenditure under this item was incurred by the hostel for Government cadets at Oriental Bay, Wellington. The gross amount spent to 31st March, 1946, was £7,220, but included in this sum were capital charges amounting to £4,675. The gross operational cost, not including accounts outstanding at 31st March, 1946, was therefore £2,545, against which board amounting to £2,835 was paid by the residents, and a miscellaneous recovery of £l2 received. On a cash basis, therefore, revenue exceeded operational costs by £302. This makes no allowance, however, for the rental value of the premises or for Head Office administrative expenses. The net charge to the Department to 31st March, 1946, was £4,368.

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(e) Promotion of Employment (£106,630) 55. Promotion of employment expenditure was previously provided for under vote, " Labour," but with, the establishment of the National Employment Service the appropriate place for this expenditure was under the new Department's vote, and provision was accordingly made as from Ist April, 1946, under vote, " National Employment Service." Details of promotion of employment expenditure are shown in the separate sections dealing with employment promotion schemes. It will be noted that the net expenditure in 1945-16 was £106,630, as compared with £125,041 in 1944-45. The first table at the end of this section summarizes the Department's expenditure over the last six years.

Analysis of Net Expenditure of the National Service Department during each Year from 1941 to 1946

Promotion of Employment: Statement of Net Expenditure for the Year ended 31st March, 1946, and Previous Year Year ended • Year ended 31st March, 1946. 31st March, 1945. Employment promotion schemes — £ £ Scheme 4f .. .. .. .. .. 16 Scheme 13 .. .. .. .. 106,226 116,886 Scheme 16a .. .. .. .. .. 54 Insurance of workers .. .. .. 28 l Youths' farm settlement .. .. .. 345 520 Miscellaneous .. .. .. .. 31 464 106,630 117,941 Administration expenses .. .. .. * 7,100 £106,630 £125,041

* For the year ended 31st March, 1946, administration expenses were shown as a separate item under vote, " National Employment Service."

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Year ended — 31st Mar., 1941. 31st Mar., 1942. 31st Mar., 1943. 31st Mar., 1944. 31st Mar., 1945. 31st Mar., 1946. Total. Administration expenses charged to vote, " National Service " in the first instance and subsequently recovered from War Expenses Account — Salaries Other charges £ 94,954 79,538 £ 139,847 98,897 £ 227,387 156,786 £ 262,924 143,352 £ 224,375 124,587 £ 218,501 78,776 £ 1,167,988 681,936 Other expenditure charged direct to War Expenses Account—■ Defaulters' detention camps Emergency Fire Service Emergency Precautions Scheme .. Home Guard Industrial mobilization Women's Land Service.. Women's War Service Auxiliary .. 174,492 ' '596 1,748 238,744 12,297 72,022 4,339 10,604 584 36 15,482 384,173 ' 172,813 130,420 299,631 1,870 9,537 406,276 133,246 150,745 164,422 53,318 Cr. 611 348,962 92,767 14,424 25,046 46j 435 52,867 Cr. 1,147 297,277 91,412 4,037 17,605 24,046 197 1,849,924 502,535 371,648 511,639 12,352 206,655 132,137 23,458 176,836 354,108 1,007,657 939,475 579,354 552,918 3,610,348 Vote, " National Employment Service " — Salary, Director of Employment (part) Administration expenses Home Aid Service Promotion of employment Public Service hostels 408 408 2,412j 786* 1,288I432* 374i179* 157j 253* 125j 041* 70,000 614 106,630 4,368 70,000 614 4,464,321 4,368 2,412,786 1,288,432 374,179 157,253 125,041 182,020 4,539,711 * This expenditure was met by vote, " Labour, Subdivision III," up to and including 31st March, 1945.

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PART lI.—MILITARY MOBILIZATION SECTION I.—STRENGTHS AND CASUALTIES OF THE ARMED FORCES (i) Total Strengths 56. Until the end of 1941, mobilization was directed to harnessing available manpower resources to enable New Zealand to play its part in distant war zones in the war against Germany. At the end of November, 1941, a total number of over 82,000 men and women were serving full-time in the Armed Forces, more than half (47,000) being overseas. This meant that mobilization had proceeded at an average rate of 2,900 a month from the outbreak of war. In addition, the Army had built up a large Territorial Force of about 35,000 men. The duties of this Territorial Force included three months' intensive training, followed by part-time training. 57. An emergency arose with the entry of Japan into the war on the 7th December, 1941. The need now was to defend New Zealand against the imminent threat of invasion, and the emphasis of mobilization was switched to strengthening this country's capacity to defend her own shores. Within a month more than 25,000 men and women were mobilized. A large part of the Territorial Force was mobilized in a few days. By the end of December the Army strength in New Zealand had more than doubled, and by March had reached a total of 65,000. Peak mobilization for all Forces in New Zealand occurred in October, 1942, when 107,840 men and women were serving full-time with the home-defence Forces. Of this total, 82,150 were in the Army, 20,830 in the Air Force, and 4,860 in the Navy. Peak mobilization for all Forces at home and overseas came in September, 1942, when 157,000 men and women were serving. This meant that mobilization had proceeded at an average rate of over 7,500 a month since the entry of Japan into the war. In addition, over 250,000 men and women were serving part time in such auxiliary services as the Home Guard, the Emergency Precautions Services, the Emergency Fire Service, and the Women's War Service Auxiliary. 58. The third phase of mobilization began towards the end of 1942, when a series of crucial reverses for the enemy again changed the formation and distribution of the New Zealand Armed Forces. The British offensive in Libya (El Alamein) began in October. Two weeks later British and American Forces landed in North West Africa. In mid-November the Japanese suffered heavy naval losses in the Solomons. With the immediate threat of invasion removed by the end of 1942, the basic military policy was to contribute the maximum amount of man-power for overseas battlefronts, pruning the home-defence Forces in order to achieve this objective as well as to man short-staffed essential industries in New Zealand. Less than a year after peak mobilization, the Army Home Defence Forces had been reduced to a total of 33,555 in June, 1943. The peak overseas strength of the Army came in May, 1943, with 56,992 men and women serving overseas, 35,694 being in the European war zone. The Air Force overseas rose to a peak' in October, 1944, when 14,675 men and women were on active service. At this time there were 4,086 airmen in the United Kingdom, 7,949 in the Pacific, and 1,676 in Canada. The overseas strength of the Navy rose to a peak of 5,635 in June, 1945, when 3,844 men were serving in the European war zone and 1,791 in the Pacific. The total overseas strength for the three Forces rose to a peak of 71,789 in March, 1944, 54,509 (76 per cent.) being Army personnel, 12,625 (18 per cent.) Air Force, and 4,655 (6 per cent.) Navy. 59. The final collapse of Italy in September, 1943, the invasion of France in June, 1944, and the surrender of Germany in May, 1945, led to a progressive decline in thestrength of the New Zealand Armed Forces overseas. The surrender of Japan in August, 1945, was followed by rapid demobilization. These phases of national service are treated more fully in Section VI below. A progressive analysis of the total strengths of the Forces is given in Table 4 of the Appendix, while Table 5 analyses the strength at 31st March, 1946.

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(ii) Casualties 60. From the outbreak of war iu September, 1939, up to VJ Day (15th August, 1945), 10,130 New-Zealanders were killed overseas as a result of enemy action, or died as a result of accident or sickness while on active service. This excludes death due to natural causes or suicide, and represents a death-rate of 72 per thousand embarkations (excluding duplicate embarkations). The death-rate in the Army was 61 per thousand embarkations, as compared with 175 (almost three times as many) in the 1914-18 war. In the recent war the death-rate for the Air Force was by far the highest of the three Service Arms, standing at 111 per thousand embarkations. The Navy death-rate, too, was well above Army, with 73 deaths for every thousand men embarked. The figures quoted for the recent war only include amendments notified up to the end of September, 1945. More recent figures in respect of Army casualties, including amendments up to the 31st March, 1946, show a total death-rate of 65 per thousand embarkations. Of the 6,827 deaths then notified, 6,089 (89 per cent.) were battle deaths (killed in action or died of wounds) and 557 (8 per cent.) were non-battle deaths, 347 being accidental and 210 being deaths from sickness. A further 181 deaths were unclassified. The total of 210 deaths from sickness compares with over 1,600 such deaths in the 1914-18 war, and provides a striking commentary on the progress of medical science. 61. The annual death-rate for the three Service arms was 1,700. The annual Army death-rate (amended to the 31st March, 1946) was 1,145, as compared with 3,186 in the 1914-18 war. In all, 9,560 deaths were notified in the European war zone and 570 in the Pacific. 62. At the 30th September, 1945, 634 servicemen were still posted as missing, 443 being in the European war zone. A further 1,463 men previously posted as missing had by this time been reclassified as safe. 63. At the 30th September, 1945, 24 men were still posted as prisoners, 11 being in the Pacific war zone. A further 8,420 Service personnel had been released or had escaped from prisoner-of-war camps. Of the total repatriated or escaped, 7,819 were Army personnel, 546 Air Force, and 55 Navy. A total of 8,342 had escaped or had been released from prisoner-of-war camps in the European war zone. 64. The total number wounded in the three Service arms (including amendments up to the 30th September, 1945) was 19,345, including those subsequently reclassified as having died of wounds and those suffering accidental injuries while on active service. The figure quoted is a cumulative total and includes more than once any serviceman wounded on more than one occasion. By far the largest number of wounded, 18,376, was notified in respect of Army personnel. This represents a wounded rate of 175 per thousand embarkations, as compared with 28 in respect of Air Force personnel and 23 in the case of the Navy. The number of Army personnel wounded overseas as notified up to the 31st March, 1946, was 18,652, showing a slightly higher rate, 178 per thousand embarkations. This compares with 440 wounded for every thousand men embarked in the previous war. Of the total wounded in all Service arms, 18,966, or 98 per cent., were casualties incurred in the European war zone. 65. The following table illustrates the sacrifices made by New-Zealanders in the recent war. The figures in parentheses show casualties per million of population :

Table 6 of the Appendix analyses the progressive number of casualites incurred by the New Zealand Forces on active service, while Table 7 analyses the total casualties incurred up to YJ Day (15th August, 1945).

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Casualties. Country. Population. Killed. Wounded. United Kingdom 47,770,000 244,723 (5,123) 277,090 (5,801) Canada 11,812,000 37,476 (3,173) 53,174 (4,502) Australia 7,230,000 23,365 (3,232) 39,803 (5,505) South Africa 9,600,000 6,840 (713) 14,363 (1,496) India 389,000,000 24,338 (63) 64,354 (165) New Zealand 1,746,000 10,130 (5,802) 19,345 (11,080)

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SECTION lI.—VOLUNTEERING AND BALLOTING (i) Volunteering 66. For some months after the outbreak of war in September, 1939, recruitment for all branches of the Armed Forces was conducted on a voluntary basis. So far as the Navy was concerned, voluntary enlistment remained throughout the war, as was the ■case also with the Fleet Air Arm and all flying personnel for the Air Force. Volunteers for these types of service were excluded from the ballot register after being attested for service. Recruitment amongst the Maori people for all branches of the Armed Forces also remained on a voluntary basis throughout. 67. After balloting was introduced, married men with more than three children •continued for a time to be accepted as volunteers for Territorial service only. In all, some 57,000 men volunteered for service with the Army. 68. All women serving with the Armed Forces were volunteers. (ii) Balloting 69. The powers necessary to impose conscription were taken under the National Service Emergency Regulations, gazetted on the 18th June, 1940, when it had become <clear that the war would be a long one, requiring a heavy and prolonged draw-off of men for military service and necessitating planned adjustments between military and industrial needs. 70. Selection for service was decided by lot, single men being balloted first. The first ballot, calling up 16,000 men for Territorial service, was gazetted on 2nd October, 1940. It was followed in quick succession by two further ballots —one for Territorial service in November (34,000 men), and one for overseas service in December (14,000 men). Mobilization proceeded at the rate of about one ballot a month, until by December, 1941, a little over a year after balloting had commenced, all single men aged twenty-one to forty had been called up for overseas service. During the same period .all single men aged eighteen to forty-five inclusive (not already called for overseas .service) had been called up for Territorial service (a proportion of these being subsequently -called for overseas service). 71. Married men were then called up in a series of ballots until the calling-up of the eligible population for military service was completed by the end of 1942, when all men —both single and married—from the ages of eighteen to forty-five inclusive had been called up. The total number of individual men affected was 283,059. There remained only a small accretion of men entering eligible classes from various sources, .and the regular inflow of young men attaining the age of eighteen years at the rate of rather more than 1,000 a month. These accretions resulted in five more ballots affecting 29,202 men. The only ballot in 1945 was gazetted on the 23rd May, and affected 5,909 men. Tables 1 and 2 of the Appendix give analyses of ballots up to 31st March, 1946. (iii) J Force, Interim Air Force, and Army 72. At the end of January, 1946, it was announced that the British Commonwealth Occupation Force of Japan would include a New Zealand Brigade of about 4,000 men and an R.N.Z.A.F. Fighter Squadron of 240 men. The land Force consisted of single men from the last three reinforcements to leave New Zealand for the Middle East, together with key personnel from earlier drafts. The advance party landed in Japan in March, 1946. 73. It was decided early in 1946 that the personnel of this Force should serve in Japan for a limited period of six months only, and that they would be gradually replaced by a volunteer Force to be raised in New Zealand, known as J Force. Some 4,500 volunteers required to be raised in New Zealand for this purpose, and sufficient of them required to be in camp by the first week in March, 1946, to enable the despatch of the

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first relief draft early in June. Army proposed to recruit a proportion of the Forcefrom the ranks of men already in camp on home service and the balance from civilian volunteers. As the Force was to be a volunteer one and strictly limited in size it was not considered that there should be any undue interference with the right of civilians to volunteer. Nevertheless, it was considered undesirable that men engaged in some of our key industries, such as coal-mining and sawmilling, which were seriously short of labour, should be permitted to volunteer, as such action would be to the detriment and not to the advantage of the national welfare. The Department, therefore, submitted a scheme to Cabinet, which was approved, and subsequently, after consultation with the Army authorities, it was arranged that no men employed in the coal-mining or the timber and sawmilling industries would be mobilized. District Man-power Officers were to maintain a close liaison with the Army authorities, and Army would agree to screen from enlistment those few men who might be represented by the Department as being highly essential employees holding key positions in other important industries, and who could not be replaced, particularly where the employment of other persons depended on them. The general policy decided on was to screen a minimum number only. The arrangements have worked well, and, apart from the coal-mining and sawmilling industry and certain members of the New Zealand Railways Locomotive Running Branch, only a few volunteers have been screened from enlistment in the J Force. 74. Towards the end of February, 1946, recruiting began for an Interim Air Force of some 2,500 men. Enlistments were received from personnel already serving, as well as from civilians. The scheme was introduced to expedite the release of war service personnel, and to permit the enlistment of those who wished to make the Air Force a career. Recruiting for the Navy also continued. (A similar scheme for an interim Army ivas introduced early in May, 1946.) SECTION lII.—MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS (i) Total Persons medically examined 75. From the outbreak of war up to YJ Day some 375,000 men and 15,000 women had been called up or had volunteered for service with the Armed Forces. Not all these persons were mobilized, however, due to conjugal status, wastages from reservation under appeal in industry, conscientious objection, desertion, death, confinement in prisons or hospitals, or medical unfitness. Although medical examination was not organized by the National Service Department, it proved an important link in the process of selecting men for service, and, partly as a result of statistical research carried out by this Department, a high standard of uniformity was achieved and maintained by the different Medical Boards. 76. The records of the Services shows that some 355,000 individual men and 15,000 individual women were medically examined. The cumulative total of individual men attested and medically examined for service with the Forces is indicated in the table below. In computing these figures allowance has been made for dual attestations and examinations ; such, for example, as when examination for service with different arms of the Forces was completed in the case of one individual, or, again, where more than one examination was conducted by the same Service arm. Estimated Progressive Totals op Individual Men medically examined Up to 31st March — 1941 .. .. .. .. .. .. 135,000 1942 .. .. .. .. .. .. 205,000 1943 .. .. .. .. .. .. 332,000 1944 .. .. .. .. .. .. 342,000 1945 .. .. .. .. .. .. 350,000 1946 .. .. .. .. .. .. 355,000

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77. Over 90 per cent, of the men medically examined went through the Army procedure, the bulk of medical examination work being done in 1942 and 1943, when mobilization for home defence against a possible Japanese invasion was followed by further heavy mobilization to enable the despatch of further man-power to overseas theatres of war. 78. During the last three years medical examinations have been confined almost •entirely to men reaching military age. (ii) Ballot Yields 79. Of the 355,000 men medically examined, about 75,000 were volunteers. Some 10,000 men were examined by the Air Force (but not by Army or Navy) and 4,000 by Navy (but not by Army or Air Force). 80. Table 3 of the Appendix gives detailed information about 249,000 men medically examined after being called up by ballot. It should be noted that the figures in these tables do not give a complete analysis of the medical examinations conducted in respect of balloted men. The difference between the number of men covered by these tables (249,000), plus the total number of volunteers examined (75,000) and the total number of medical examinations conducted (355,000) is accounted for by a number of classifications not being notified. 81. From a medical viewpoint, the results of the medical examination of ballotees are interesting in that they show a much higher proportion of Grade I men in ballots affecting single men as compared with later ballots relating to married men. Ballots 20 to 24 inclusive, referring only to inflow at age eighteen and miscellaneous " seepages " into other classes, naturally show a very high proportion (over 70 per cent.) of Grade I men, as compared with 59 per cent, for ballots 1 to 12 (single men) and 50 per cent, for ballots 13 to 19 (married men). SECTION IV.—TOTAL MAN-POWER INTAKE OF THE FORCES (i) Cumulative Intake of all Service Arms 82. From the outbreak of war up to YJ Day (15th August, 1945) the cumulative intake of individuals by all Service arms amounted to 194,000 men and 10,000 women. Most of these men and women were inducted during the first three years of the war. By March, 1943, 185,000 individual men had served or were still serving with the Armed Forces. This 185,000 represented 62 per cent, of the male population between the ages of eighteen and forty-five. By YJ Day 66 per cent, of the male population in this agegroup had served or were still serving. 83. The difference between the cumulative net intake of men by all Service arms {197,000) and the total number attested and medically examined (355,000), is explained by defective medical grading —i.e., Grades 111 and IV —reservation under appeal in essential industry, or by other causes. 84. Including transfers of servicemen between various arms and men entering the Forces more than once, the gross total of intakes up to YJ Day was 224,000 men. Transfers, &c., reached an estimated total of 30,000 up to the end of the war. The table below shows the aggregate cumulative gross intake of men into all Service arms at twelve-monthly intervals from March, 1941, the totals being shown as a percentage of the jjaale population liable for service :

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Period covered. Gross Intake of Men. Percentage of Male Population 18 to 45 Years (including Maoris). Up to 31st March — 1941 .. 113,000 38 1942 145,000 49 1943 192,000 65 1944 208,000 70 1945 .. .. 218,000 74 VJ Day (15th August, 1945) 224,000 76 31st March, 1946 228,000 77

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85. The net intake of individual men by the Armed Forces—i.e., excluding duplicate-" intakes through transfers or more than one entry—is as follows

(ii) Comparative Intake of the Three Service Arms 86. The Army inducted approximately three times as many individuals as the next largest Force, the Air Force. Comparative figures of gross intakes given in the table below show that of the 228,000 men inducted up to the 31.st March, 1946, 71 per cent, had been in the Army, 23-per cent, in the Air Force, and 6 per cent, in the NaVy.

SECTION V.—APPEALS AGAINST MILITARY SERVICE (i) The Screening of Man-power called up by Ballot 87. Before the establishment of the National Service Department volunteers for service were screened by Placement Officers of the Employment Division of the Labour Department. In this manner the military service of some 3,000 men was postponed. 88. After balloting commenced in October, 1940, it became more than ever necessary to screen the recruitment of men whose mobilization might have interfered unduly with industrial activity, as well as to examine the individual circumstances of men who claimed that military service would impose undue hardship or was contrary to their conscientious beliefs. (ii) The Activities of Man-power Committees 89. In September, 1940, Placement Officers were superseded by sixteen (later increased to seventeen) District Advisory Man-power Committees for hearing appeals against military service. The jurisdiction of these Committees was limited to appeals of interested parties (particularly employers) against the overseas service of volunteers, and to appeals against Territorial (home defence) service, except where such appeals were lodged on the grounds of conscientious objection.

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Period covered. Net Intake of Men. Percentage of Male Population 18 to 45 Years (including Maoris). Up to 31st March—1941 113,000 38 1942 145,000 49 1943 185,000 62 1944 .. 187,000 63 1945 .. 190,000 64 YJ Day (15th August, 1945) 194,000 66 31st March, 1946 197,000 67

Gross Intakes to — Date. Army. ! Air Force. 1 Navy. Total. 31st March, 1941 99,000 10,000 4,000 113,000 31st March, 1942 .. . . .. 115,000 25,000 5,000 145,000 31st March, 1943 .. .. .. 147,000 38,000 7,000 192,000 31st March, 1944 .. .. .. 153,000 45,000 10,000 208,000 31st March, 1945 .. . . .. 156,000 50,000 12,000 218,000 YJ Day (15th August, 1945) .. 160,000 52,000 12,000 224,000 31st March, 1946 164,000 52,000 12,000 228,000

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90. Broadly speaking, the appeal procedure threw the initiative 011 the employer to lodge the appeal where it appeared that the man should not be withdrawn from industry. The Director of National Service could, through his local representative, lodge an appeal on grounds of public interest in those cases where the man himself, or his employer, failed to lodge such an appeal, but where it nevertheless appeared desirable to retain the man in industry. Thus the initiative rested mainly with the employer, who had personal knowledge of the demands being made upon his plant, 'the priority accorded to those demands, and the availability of labour to meet them. 91. Up to June, 1942, when Man-power Committees were reorganized, 60,051 men had lodged appeals against Territorial service. The number of men affected by appeals represented 43 per cent, of the total number of men called up for Territorial service during the period. (iii) The Activities of Armed Forces Appeal Boards 92. While the Man-power Committees dealt with appeals against Territorial service (except appeals on the ground of conscience) and appeals against overseas service by volunteers, it was also necessary to deal with appeals against compulsory overseas service. There were two alternative means of doing so —either to increase the number of Man-power Committees to deal with the greater volume of combined appeals, or to create different tribunals to deal specifically with appeals against compulsory overseas, service. As there was considerable difference between the criteria applying to home service and overseas service (both as regards medical grading and as regards the weighting of public interest grounds) it was preferable to adopt the latter alternative. Provision was accordingly made in the National Service Emergency Regulations 1940 for the establishment of Armed Forces Appeal Boards. 93. Towards the end of 1940 six itinerant Appeal Boards were established. These were later augmented by an additional three auxiliary Boards which were found necessary to cope with the growing volume of work. 94. Up to the end of February, 1943, Appeal Boards and Man-power Committeesplayed a vital part in the postponement of service of men, who especially under the stress imposed by the major mobilization of 1942, were for the time being indispensable to the industrial war effort. During the period all eligible men were called up for service. Appeals against Territorial service, dealt with by Man-power Committees,, have already been mentioned above. The number of individual men affected by appeal* lodged with Armed Forces Appeal Boards up to June, 1942, was 26,336, or 33 per cent, of the men balloted for overseas service. 95. In June 1942, the distinction between Territorial and overseas service was removed. The existing Man-power Committees and Appeal Boards were accordingly merged and given power to deal with all appeals except those of conscientious objectors, (The appeals of conscientious objectors remained throughout the war in the jurisdiction of the nine original Appeal Boards.) The merger of Committees and Boards resulted in twenty-six statutory Appeal Boards. The progressive decline in the number of appeals to be heard led to a contraction in the number of Boards to twenty-two in August, 1942 r and nineteen in the following July. This process was carried further in February, 1944, when the number was reduced to sixteen. 96. Appeals arising out of ballots 16 to 19 (married men with children) as lodged with the reconstituted Appeal Boards from June, 1942, to the end of February, 1943. affected 69,365 men, or 71 per cent, of the number balloted. 97. From Ist March, 1943, to the end of March, 1944, Appeal Boards were mainly concerned with sifting applications for release so as to expedite the reduction in homedefence Forces once the threat of invasion had been removed, and to effect such demobilization in the best interests of industry. With all eligible men already balloted, the number of individual men affected by first appeals heard during this period was only 10,714.

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98. From April, 1944, to YJ Day first appeals were determined in the case of youths attaining military age, together with some appeals still arising out of earlier ballots. In the main, however, Armed Forces Appeal Boards were concerned with the review of .appeals previously adjourned sine die. During the year ended 31st March, 1945, Armed Forces Appeal Boards heard 30,01*2 appeals (on all grounds) against military service. The outstanding feature of this period was the comb-out of Category " A " men to replace long-service personnel. In the first quarter of 1945 the needs of the Second Division replacement scheme resulted in the outright dismissal or withdrawal of 2,576 appeals and the dismissal subject only to a time condition of 2,316 appeals. 99. From December, 1945, to the end of the war Appeal Boards heard 4,567 first ■appeals and reviewed 24,113 cases. Following the cessation of hostilities in Europe on Bth May, 1945, the number of appeals heard in June and July (2,423) dwindled to a fifth of the total determined in the preceding two months (12,206). Armed Forces Appeal Board activity ceased almost immediately after the capitulation of Japan in August. 100. Table 8 of the Appendix shows the determinations made by Appeal Boards from April, 1944, to July, 1945. Tables 10 and 11 refer to men combed out of industry following the review of appeals or the first hearing of an appeal during the period Ist April, 1943, to 31st July, 1945. (iv) Men held under Appeal 101. The total number of men eligible for service, but held under appeal on industrial grounds as the result of Appeal Board action was progressively reduced from 41,617 in March, 1944, to 28,441 in February, 1945. By YJ Day (15th August, 1945) only 21,625 such men were held under appeal in industry. This decrease was due partly to the comb-out of men to replace long-service personnel and partly to the elimination of Grade I men outside the Category " A " group —i.e., the elimination of men other than Grade I men aged twenty-one to thirty-five inclusive with not more than two children. Table 9of the Appendix shows the industries in which men were held under appeal at VJ Day (15th August, 1945). 102. At the conclusion of hostilities Category " A " men who had been held under appeal on industrial grounds were directed to remain in the employment for which they had been withheld from military service. 103. Man-power Officers issued 13,019 directions to Category " A " men and took over the files of these men from Armed Forces Appeal Boards. (The obligations of the Category "A " men ceased as from the end of June, 1946.) (v) Activities of Man-power Officers 104. Throughout the war Man-power Officers co-operated with Armed Forces Appeal Boards in screening the enlistment of men called up for service and in sifting applications for release from the Forces. 105. With the opening of enlistment for the J Force in January, 1946, and for an Interim Air Force in the following month, it became necessary for Man-power Officers to screen enlistments in order to protect key industries. While the policy was to withhold as few applications as possible, it was necessary to screen the enlistment of skilled men in the moulding, sawmilling, and coal-mining industries and certain classes of employees in the Railways and the Post and Telegraph Departments. A very limited number of key workers in other industries were also screened. SECTION VI.—RELEASES FROM THE ARMED FORCES (i) The Withdrawal of Men from the Forces up to VJ Day 106. Until the spring of 1942 there was no significant release of man-power from the Forces. By this time, however, the peak of military mobilization to meet the threat of invasion had been achieved and the threat itself was receding. The spring of 1942, therefore, saw the commencement of a substantial release of man-power for industrial purposes. Up to the end of March, 1943, some 16,300 men were released from homedefence Forces as the result of Appeal Board and Man-power Office action.

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107. During the year ended 31st March, 1944, 23,900 men were released from the Forces. This large total of releases was due largely to further reduction in the homedefence Forces. Other service personnel released in this period included dowrf-graded men from the Pacific war zone, and the Forestry and Railway units from the European war zone. 108. In 1944-45 the most significant man-power release development was the return of the bulk of the Third Division from the Pacific theatre and the direction of these men to essential industry. Up to the end of November, 1944, some 10,500 men had returned from the Pacific and some 9,500 had been directed into essential or other important work. In addition, a further 13,900 men were released from home-defence units as a result of Appeal Board and Man-power Office action. 109. From the end of March, 1945, up to YJ Day Appeal Boards and Man-power Officers were instrumental in securing the release of some 3,500 men and 200 women. In addition, over 24,000 service personnel were released during this period as a result of the accelerated reduction in strength following victory in Europe. Table 15 of the Appendix shows the progress of releases from the Armed Forces from the outset to the end of March, 1946. (ii) General Demobilization 110. Prior to the end of hostilities a special committee had been appointed to investigate the procedure to be adopted in demobilizing personnel from the Armed Forces. The surrender of Japan came with unexpected suddenness before the proposals of this Committee could be formulated to Government. Urgent action was nevertheless called for if delay was to be avoided in commencing a maximum possible demobilization of home-defence personnel. The National Service Department, winch had been represented on the Committee, therefore, put forward on YJ Day its own proposals for demobilization of Armed Forces personnel within New Zealand. These proposals were submitted to Government and approved within a matter of hours. 111. Employers generally were invited to apply for men in the Forces who were needed by them. All applications were to be made to District Man-power Officers, who would then determine the priority of the application and negotiate directly with the appropriate military authorities. Applications for release of men to the following industries were to have first priority:— Farming. Coal-mining. Shearers. Carpenters. Musterers Electricians. Dairy factories. Plumbers. Sawmilling. Painters. Applications for release for employment in any of the above groups was to be accepted and recommended where it was established that there was a reasonable need for the workers in the industry. The Armed Forces, for their part, would make a maximum effort to release men applied for in these groups. 112. Other applications for release—i.e., on compassionate grounds and for other industries- —were to be recommended by Man-power Officers to the Military authorities only where the application rested on exceptionally strong grounds, it being necessary to safeguard the Forces against too great a measure of disorganization while they still had important tasks to discharge in connection with the maintenance or disposal of equipment, the handling of demobilization, and the maintenance of minimum overseas forces. 113. Apart from applications for release, the Services would proceed with general demobilization at the maximum possible rate in the following order of priority: — (a) Those who had completed four years' service : (b) Married men with children : (c) Youths under twenty years and six months of age : (d) Persons over thirty-five years of age.

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114. In addition, personnel whose services were no longer required and who could not be used to replace persons in one of the priority groups were also released. With the exception of a small number of single men retained to replace long-service personnel, members of the Sixteenth Reinforcements were demobilized immediately and placed at the disposal of Man-power Officers for direction to essential industry. 115. By 31st March, 1946, Man-power Officers had made recommendations on occupational grounds in respect of 3,715 men. At that date 2,801 of these recommendations had been approved by the Forces. The industry to gain most was the farming industry (including shearing and mustering), for which 1,333 recommendations were made, 1,074 having been approved by the Forces by 31st March, 1946. In addition, Man-power Officers made 203 recommendations on compassionate grounds, 147 of these cases having been approved by the Forces at the end of March, 1946. Table 17 of the Appendix gives further details of these recommendations. 116. While Government directed that the utmost expedition be given to the demobilization of the home Forces in accordance with the priorities outlined, it was necessary to retain key personnel to cope with the requirements of demobilization, care of equipment, pay and accounts, and other essential activities in the Forces. Taking this into account and the fact that, for the most part, general demobilization involved the return of personnel from far-distant war zones,, and the clearance of equipment and accounts for all persons released, demobilization was effected very speedily. From VJ Day up to 31st March, 1946, 73,894 men and 3,360 women were demobilized. This total, 77,254, represents 82 per cent, of the strength of the Forces at VJ Day and demobilization at the rate of 10,300 a month. In the first three and a half months of demobilization 42,682 persons were released, representing about 12,195 a month from VJ Day to the end of November. Table 16 of the Appendix analyses the releases from YJ Day (15 August, 1945) to 31st March, 1946. SECTION VII.—CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS AND DEFAULTERS (i) The Problem of Conscientious Objection 117. Though few in number, conscientious objectors were by far the most difficult section of the population to deal with in the matter of national service. It was by no means easy to separate the spurious from the genuine or to formulate a policy which, while protecting the individual conscience, did not encourage irresponsibility. (ii) The Treatment of Conscientious Objectors 118. The National Service Emergency Regulations 1940 established as a ground for a right of appeal that a man called up for military service conscientiously objected to serving with the Armed Forces. Appeals of this type were heard by Armed Forces Appeal Boards, from whose determination there was no right of appeal. 119. From the time balloting commenced in October, 1940, up to 31st December, 1944, 5,117 appeals were lodged on the grounds of conscientious objection. (As the only ballot called after December, 1944, covered merely inflow at age eighteen and miscellaneous " seepages," totalling 5,909 men in all, the number of appeals lodged on grounds of conscience after December was negligible.) This represents a very small percentage (1-7 per cent.) of the 306,352 men called up by ballot for military service. 120. In practice many appeals lodged on the grounds of conscientious objections were not dealt with on these grounds. Where the appellant was also the subject of an appeal on the ground of public interest or otherwise, and postponement could be granted on these grounds, it was unnecessary to hear the appeal on grounds of conscience. In this manner, 1,096 or 21 per cent, of the 5,117 appeals lodged, were adjourned sine die. In 944 other cases the appellant was found to be unfit for service, or the appeal was withdrawn or dismissed for want of prosecution. 1

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121. In the remaining 3,077 cases it was open for Appeal Boards to determine whether the appeal should be—(a) Allowed, the appellant to come under the jurisdiction of the Special Tribunal. This, determination was made in 606, or 19*7 per cent, of the cases heard ; (b) Dismissed, subject to non-combatant service. This decision affected 1,226, or 39*8 per cent, of the cases heard; (r) Dismissed outright. This affected the largest number of cases, 1,245, or 40-5 per cent, of thetotal. (iii) The Special Tribunal 122. The Special Tribunal, comprising three members working independently,, was established in August, 1941. The Tribunal was empowered to deal with conscientious objectors whose appeals had been allowed, in order to ensure that noconscientious objector would be in a better financial position than if he had been serving in the Armed Forces, and that all performed work of national importance. As. at 31st December, 1944, the Tribunal had under its jurisdiction 572 conscientiousobjectors whose appeals had been allowed. In 500 cases it had been necessary to make an Order for the appropriation of a portion of the income of the objector to reduce his income to the equivalent of what he would have received had he been a member of the Armed Forces. 123. With the establishment of Revision Authorities in June, 1945, to review theposition of men held in defaulters' detention camps, men released on parole from defaulters' detention also came under the jurisdiction of the Special Tribunal. All defaulters released by the Revision Authorities were directed to full-time employment in work of national importance, in accordance with an undertaking given prior to release. The Tribunal ensured that such men were placed in no better financial position than the serviceman. (For a full statement of the reasons for setting up Revision Authorities, see the Department's report for 1945, page 24 et seq.) 124. Tables 13 and 14 of the Appendix give detailed information relating to caseseoming under the jurisdiction of the Special Tribunal. Payments made into the Social Security Fund amounted to £6,502 for the year ended 31st March, 1946. This represents an average annual yield of £7 17s. sd. from each order. (All orders made by the Special Tribunal were revoked as at the end of June, 1946.)' (iv) Defaulters' Detention 125. Changing Circumstances and the Effect upon Detention. —-The period under review in this report opened with the war still on and involved large numbers of New Zealand citizens still serving in the Forces in the various theatres of the war. It was inevitable, therefore, that the regulations as applied to military defaulters should continue while there was an obligation for men to serve. As it has worked out, however,, it would appear that as far as defaulters are concerned, apart from the segregation aspect, the time factor, by reason of the indeterminate nature of the penalty, has weighed heavily upon the persons concerned, many having been under restraint since 1941 and some having been committed to detention when they are eligible for Territorial service at the age of eighteen or nineteen years. As the year advanced and important changes in the war situation took place, involving cessation of hostilities, there was an easement in the Dominion's man-power requirements overseas, and acceleration was given to the return of the men on service with the Forces. This vastly improved situation rendered practicable the more favourable consideration of the position of those defaulters whowere over age, down-graded medically, or who had been detained for over four years. Towards the end of the period under review these circumstances resulted in the temporary release of men within these categories to enable them to be employed on work pursuant to the orders or directions of the Special Tribunal, in accordance with Regulation 44a (5) (b).

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126. The Revision Authority.—The main movement among defaulters in •detention was that resulting from the decisions of the Revision Authorities who were .appointed in June to receive applications from defaulters for release on parole. Four hundred and sixty-seven men, representing 76 per cent, of the total number in detention, submitted their cases for revision, and, after hearing, 283 gained their release on parole in accordance with Regulation 44c (3), (4), and (5) of the National Service Emergency Regulations. The Revision Authority in each case was required to satisfy himself -that the applicant held " a conscientious belief that would prevent his participation in war." He was entitled to take into consideration also the applicant's behaviour while in detention. The function of the Revision Authority was not to ameliorate the •conditions of detention, as such, but merely to ascertain whether, amongst those committed to Defaulters' Detention Camps, there were those who could now establish conscientiousness of belief. An opportunity was given every defaulter to establish his case accordingly. In a large number of instances this opportunity was not availed of by the •defaulters concerned. Furthermore, it was not intended that any favourable decision by the Revision Authority should have the effect of reversing the original Appeal decision. 'The Revision Authority was not given the powers of an appellate tribunal to amend or reverse the decisions of the Appeal Boards. If it considered that any person in defaulters' detention now held conscientious objections that would prevent his participation in war, all that the Revision Authority could do in such a case was to permit the man to be released from detention on parole under man-power direction and subject to forfeiture of remuneration in excess of that which it was deemed he would have received had he served in the Armed Forces. 127. Detention Camps in operation and Work performed.—The year commenced with all the camps (excepting Conical Hill) still in operation. These included Whenuaroa, for maintenance and developmental work on Strathmore and associated blocks under lands-development scheme; Shannon, with three camps —Whitanui, Paiaka, and : Terrill's Farm —for the cultivation of flax areas under the Department of Industries ■and Commerce ; Hautu, regarded as a special disciplinary camp for the undertaking •of such farm-developmental work as was possible under the Prisons Department; Balmoral (North Canterbury) for forestry work and the production of firewood under the State Forest Service ; Oio for the production of firewood in former milling areas under the State Forest Service ; Puketapu for a similar purpose as Oio ; Matanuku for -the subdivision of the Matanuku Block for farms for returned-soldier settlers, including the building of farm cottages, outhouses, &c., under the State Housing Scheme in the Lands and Survey Department; Maramarua for general forestry work under the State Forest Service ; Riverhead for the same purpose as Maramarua ; Gralatea for maintenance and developmental work on the Gralatea Block under the Lands and Survey Department. Skilled tradesmen among the inmates completed the construction of a large residence for the schoolmaster at Turangi and rebuilt and renovated farm cottages for the Lands and Survey Department. The diminution in numbers in detention during the year necessitated a reduction in the number of detention camps, and consequently •all, excepting five of the camps, had been closed down before the end of the financial year. Those remaining were Whenuaroa, Whitanui, Hautu, Balmoral, and Maramarua. 128. Domestic Services. —In addition to the service performed for Government Departments, inmates of the various camps were employed in maintaining their own camps and in the production of farm produce for their own needs, any surplus of which was marketed. The policy has been to make the camps self-supporting as far as certain ■essential food commodities are concerned, thus avoiding the necessity for drawing on the civilian markets for these lines. In addition, the defaulters in the camps have done their own tailoring and bootmaking and have performed all mechanical services in connection with the service and maintenance of official vehicles, power-plants, and farm implements.

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129. The Number of Defaulters dealt With.—Up to the 31st March, 1946,. 803 defaulters have been dealt with in the detention camps. These have been disposed of as indicated hereunder— Remaining in the camps at 31st March, 1946 .. .. .. .. 132 Detained in prison at 31st March, 1946 .. .. .. 26 Transferred to Armed Forces (of their own volition) .. .. 69 Specially released on medical or compassionate parole .. .. .. 23 Transferred to mental hospitals (5), less 1 deceased and 2 discharged .. 2 Escapees still at large .. .. .. .. .. .. 11 Discharged medical Grade IV .. .. .. .. 23 Discharged for special reasons .. .. .. .. .. 3 Released on parole by Revision Authority .. .. .. .. 283 Temporarily released under Regulation 44a (5) (6), being over age, medically down-graded, or in detention over four years .. .. .. 226 Deceased .. .. .. ... .. .. .. 5 Table 12 is an analysis of all persons who have passed through defaulters' detention camps. 130. The Conditions of Defaulters' Detention.—-In accordance with the regulations, defaulters were detained " in such place of detention and under such conditions as the Minister from time to time thinks fit." The conditions of detention were not as severe as those which necessarily apply to established penal institutions, but the camps were designed to be substantially less attractive than Army life, and certainly not open to the inference that defaulters' detention provided an attractive alternative to those who refused military service. Possibly the most valuable result of the detention camps has been their deterrent effect upon others. Within the regulations the detention of defaulters proceeded during the year in accordance with the following principles, which were established at the beginning of the detention scheme : (a) segregation, (b) useful occupation, (c) strict discipline, and (d) provision of social amenities providing for an orderly community maintaining the essentials of decent healthy living and mental and physical occupation. 131. The work performed by defaulters in detention at times has been compared more than favourably with that performed by normal paid labour. In other instances it has not been so good. It was found on experience that work involving individual interest and creative activity speeded up the tempo and output of the inmates' efforts. While the work performed by defaulters in the camps has not been arduous, it has, in some instances, been performed in remote places and involved the normal effort of field, farm, and forest employment. A large proportion of the inmates of the clerical and sedentary types were quite unsuitable and not readily adaptable to the manual work they were required to perform. Defaulters received a maximum of 2s. 6d. per day, representing industry and good conduct marks. 132. There have been no serious accidents during the year, and only two or three minor ones, while the incidence of physical illness carrying any degree of seriousness has not exceeded 7 per cent, of the total inmate personnel of the camps. It was found,, therefore, that, physically, most of the men during the year were standing up well to the conditions of detention, but in the morale aspects there were indications of progressive deterioration in some cases. This was doubtless due to the irksomeness of the detention restraints (notwithstanding the parole system introduced in the previous year), the continued indeterminate nature of the sentence, and the tendency on the part of many of the inmates to magnify their troubles out of all proportion to reality. 133. The conduct of the inmates during the year was generally good. The majority of the defaulters in detention responded to the disciplinary requirements quite of their own volition. At times, led by men of the recalcitrant type, some joined in expressions of protest against their continued detention, while others sought to slow down the work. At no time, however, did these mass efforts reach serious proportions.

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'■( The position, however, was different with regard to defaulters transferred to prison, -whose protests in some instances took the more serious forms of refusal to work and hunger-striking.) Generally, as the result of the good sense of the majority of the defaulters and due also to the firm and tactful handling of the staffs, more serious -trouble was averted. There were only four escapes from the camps during the year, -two of the escapees voluntarily giving themselves up after a few days absence. SECTION VIII. —WOMEN'S AUXILIARY SERVICES (i) The Establishment of Women's Auxiliary Services 134. The formation of the Women's War Service Auxiliary, as well as auxiliary Forces with each of the three Service arms and the Women's Land Service, resulted from the need to conserve man-power for active service or essential industries, and the desire of women to play their part in the effective prosecution of the war. Over 75,000 women served with the Women's War Service Auxiliary and affiliated organizations. Over 15,000 volunteered for service with the Women's Auxiliary Armed Forces, and 2,700 applied to serve with the Women's Land Service. (ii) The Women's War Service Auxiliary 135. The Women's War Service Auxiliary was established in 1940 to provide a national organization, co-ordinating the war effort of New Zealand women. The Auxiliary compiled a register of all women volunteering for work calculated to assist the war effort. The strength of the Auxiliary and affiliated organizations reached a peak of over 75,000 in 1942, when 250 district committees were operating under the 'Central Executive. 136. The 'fields of contribution made by the Auxiliary included the organization •of the following groups : (a) Land Group, with about 600 members organized to grow vegetables for Service clubs, or to raise money for patriotic funds. (b) Clerical Section, in which 10,000 members of the Auxiliary served. This section performed the bulk of the clerical and typing work of the Home Guard and the Emergency Precautions Scheme, and also performed a considerable amount of work for the Armed Forces. When the threat of invasion was imminent, section members attended nightly at Army offices and Service camps to overtake arrears of clerical work. (c) Canteen Section, in which 25,000 members served. Members of this section volunteered to staff canteen huts at military camps, as well as Service clubs and hostels throughout the Dominion. Members also provided valuable service in cooking for Home Guard manoeuvres and in staffing accommodation and evacuation units of the Emergency Precautions Scheme. More recently, members -of the Canteen Section assisted in catering for returning drafts of ex-servicemen. (d) Hospital Croup, in which about 2,000 members served. Women in this group were called upon to do hospital visiting work and to undertake training as hospital aids in kitchen and laundry work. Members also performed voluntary work for Hospital Boards by way of clerical and telephone -work, admission of patients, &c. (e) Obstetrical Group, numbering 250, making a valuable contribution as obstetrical voluntary aids. (/) Signalling Group.—At the time when Japanese invasion threatened, members of this group, numbering over 1,000 women, undertook intensive training in Morse and semaphore, being attached to the Home Guard and the Emergency Precautions Scheme. (g) Transport Group.—About 5,000 women trained in all sections of civilian transport. In most •districts members of the Transport Group were seconded to the Emergency Precautions Scheme, undertaking convoy duties, collection of waste paper, &c. The group conducted tests for mechanics and over 1,000 were successful in passing the examination. 137. The Auxiliary was responsible for the recruitment of women for the Women's Auxiliary Armed Forces up to October, 1942, and throughout the war assisted with national campaigns, such as loans, bond sales, and patriotic-fund appeals. The Auxiliary also assisted in the manufacture of camouflage nets, in sewing and knitting lx>r Service personnel, and in encouraging women to undertake first-aid courses. The

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.Auxiliary performed valuable work by co-operating with the National Service Department in .maintaining contact with members of the Women's Land Service and by .acting in an advisory capacity on the general welfare of Service personnel and the utilization of women in war work. (At the beginning of April, 1946, the Hon. the Minister of National Service proposed •that the Central Executive and district committees should merely go into recess so as to be ■on call for national campaigns and for emergencies of any kind. This course was accordingly ■adopted.) (iii) The Woman's Auxiliary Air Force 138. The Women's Auxiliary Air Force was established in January, 1941. Some •8,000 women volunteered for this Service, 4,753 actually -serving, 21 officers and 114 •other ranks going on active service overseas. The corps reached a peak strength of -3,746 in August, 1943. By VJ Day the strength had dwindled to about 2,500, while .at the 31st March, 1946, there were only 629 women still serving. Members of this Force were mainly employed as shorthand-typists, clerks, domestics, kitchen workers, and dental and medical assistants. During the period of peak mobilization in New .Zealand many were employed on important technical work, such as radio location. (iv) The Women's Auxiliary Army Corps 139. The Women's Auxiliary Army Corps came into being towards the end of 1941, when a draft of 30 volunteers embarked for the Middle East. Five thousand women actually served during the course of the war. The corps reached a peak strength of 4,589 in July, 1943. Some 920 members of the corps served overseas. By VJ Day the strength of this Auxiliary Force had shrunk to about 2,500, while at the 31st March, 1946, 969 women were still serving, 91 being overseas at that date. (v) The Women's Royal Naval Service (N.Z.) 140. The strength of the Women's Royal Naval Service in New Zealand rose steadily .after the inception of the corps in May, 1942, to a peak strength of 519 in October, 1944. In all, 1,459 applications to join the Service were received, and 640 women .actually, served. By March, 1946, the strength had decreased to 297. Most of the women .served ashore in clerical or domestic work, although some were engaged in manning motor-launches in the Auckland Harbour. SECTION IX.—CONTROL OF DEPARTURES FROM NEW ZEALAND 141. The mobilization of man-power is the most important aspect of war organization. Safeguarding the man-power reserve by preventing the departure of persons liable for service, is, of course, an important corollary. Provision for control of ■departures from New Zealand was accordingly made in the Oversea Passengers Emergency Regulations gazetted on the day before the outbreak of war. Under these regulations no person of the age of sixteen years or over could leave New Zealand for .any other country unless in possession of a written permit issued by the Under-Secretary of Internal Affairs. 142. The regulations were administered by the Department of Internal Affairs, but all applications for exit permits were referred to the National Service Department so that an applicant's military and industrial obligations might be reviewed and recommendations made accordingly. As a general rule applications were recommended only in exceptional circumstances. Over the last year of war, however, greater latitude was introduced, particularly in respect of returned servicemen who had completed their military obligations and especially those returned servicemen who had been offered s, means of rehabilitation overseas. Other categories given favourable consideration were the wives ancU fiancees of Allied servicemen where the servicemen concerned had

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been repatriated to their normal place of residence ; evacuees from war zones who had enjoyed temporary asylum in New Zealand ; war widows desirous of making their home with relations abroad ; and persons not normally resident in the Dominion, but stranded here as the result of war conditions, and who, in the case of males, had completed their military obligations, if any. 143. With the cessation of hostilities in August the National Service Department only needed to consider applications from men aged eighteen to forty-four inclusive (but not returned servicemen) and women aged eighteen to twenty-nine inclusive. By the beginning of 1946 it had become unnecessary for the National Service Department to consider any applications from females, although the review of applications from men was retained mainly in order to prevent the departure of Category " A " men still subject to special direction and men subject to orders or directions of the Special Tribunal. PART lII.—INDUSTRIAL MOBILIZATION AND GENERAL ACTIVITIES SECTION I.—INDUSTRIAL MOBILIZATION OVER THE WAR YEARS (i) Early Effects of Military Mobilization 144. Following the declaration of war in September, 1939, a cumulative declinein the labour force available to industry set in, and by June, 1941, New Zealand had mobilized over 73,000 men in the Armed Forces. The withdrawal of this labour from industry did not, however, entail a fall in essential production, which actually increased. This increase was achieved by the absorption of unemployed persons, the gradual substitution of women for men, lengthening hours of work, a slowly increasing curtailment of non-essential production and services, and an all-round increase in individual effort. (ii) Introduction of Man-power Controls 145. By the middle of 1941, however, it had become apparent that the war must be a long one, requiring a further steady flow of reinforcements overseas. While, up to that point, industry had been able to adapt itself to the increasing labour shortage by voluntary measures, a close study of the over-all man-power position then carried out showed that with 73,000 men already withdrawn from industry and in the Forcesby the end of June, 1941 (including 42,000 actually overseas), these voluntary measures of adjustment could not continue to meet the position for much longer. In September, 1941, the Department therefore began to study the question of introducing compulsory measures of industrial mobilization (man-power controls) in New Zealand whenever the strain of mobilization might make this necessary. In doing so it had available the measures already adopted by the British Government. 146. The outbreak of war with Japan in December, 1941, brought the question of industrial mobilization to a head with unexpected urgency. The need for home defence became of paramount importance. It became immediately necessary to withdraw a. further 45,000 men from industry for the home-defence Forces in the early part of 1942, followed by further withdrawals, until by September, 1942, industry had lost some 170,000 men to the Armed Forces overseas and within New Zealand. The necessity for mobilization on such a scale made the introduction of man-power controls a matter of urgent necessity almost overnight. In January, 1942, Amendment No. 8 of the National Service Emergency Regulations 1940 was gazetted providing for such controls and for the appointment throughout the Dominion of District Man-power Officers toadminister them under the direction of the Minister of National Service. These regulations were later taken out of the National Service Emergency Regulations and gazetted separately as the Industrial Man-power Emergency Regulations 1942, and then cameunder the administration of the Minister of Industrial Man-power.*

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(iii) Declarations of Essentiality 147. Under these regulations industries or individual units of industries in which, it became necessary to hold or reinforce the labour content could be declared to be " essential." The first declarations were made in January, 1942, covering butter and icheese making, electric-power production and supply, the manufacture and supply of •coal-gas, hospitals, the sawmilling, coal-mining and linen-flax industries, and the manufacture of munitions and Army equipment. As war production mounted and as ifurther mobilization decreased the labour force available to industry as a whole, it became necessary to extend the coverage of declarations not only to protect actual war production, but also to protect vital ancillary production and services, until by 51st March, 1944, it was estimated that approximately 255,000 workers, representing 40 per cent, of the Dominion labour force, were employed in undertakings declared -essential. From Ist April, 1944, no appreciable change took place in the extent of this .coverage until the fall of Germany in May, 1945. From then onward declarations were •continuously reviewed and thinned out in accordance with the Government's desire ito abandon wartime controls as quickly as possible (see Section 111 below). 148. The objects in declaring undertakings essential were twofold. First, there was the need to hold the existing labour force on the essential jobs to the maximum extent possible. To this end no terminations of employment in such undertakings •could be effected by either employer or worker until the consent of a District Man-power Officer was obtained. The second object in declaring undertakings essential was to prepare the way for the direction of labour into such concerns. There could be no point in directing labour to an employer while his other employees remained free to leave at will; nor could labour be effectively directed unless certain necessary minimum obligations applied. 149. As stated above, no terminations of employment in undertakings declared •essential could be effected until the consent of a District Man-power Officer was obtained. The magnitude of this particular activity alone can be judged from the fact that from the outset of man-power control in January, 1942, to 31st March, 1946, applications dealt with by District Man-power Officers totalled 304,218, comprising '93,033 employers' applications and 211,185 workers' applications. Some 2,676 of the -applications lodged by employers and 30,733 of those lodged by workers were refused. 150. District Man-power Officers, by reason of the powers of direction, coupled with their control over engagements of labour, exercised control over the subsequent work destinations of persons permitted to terminate. Tables 32, 33, and 34, of the Appendix give further details of applications and the subsequent work destinations in cases where permission to terminate was granted. (iv) Registration for and Direction to Work of National Importance 151. The regulations made every civilian liable for direction to work of national importance, irrespective of age or sex, and enabled the registration of persons by .successive age and occupational groups. Table 21 of the Appendix lists the various registration Orders and the classes of workers affected. 152. Registrations were effected on a district basis, each person being required to register with the District Man-power Officer in the district in which he or she was -at the time resident, and any subsequent change of address had to be notified. On the registration of each group, male or female, the particulars shown on the registration forms were checked and the registrants subdivided into various groupings according to whether or not they were likely to be available for direction to more important work. The personal interviewing of registrants then followed. Those not found to be available for direction were kept under periodic review.

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153. Persons were directed only to undertakings declared essential, except in a few special cases, particularly farming. All persons compulsorily directed from theirnormal permanent work were brought within the scope of the Occupational Reestablishment Emergency Regulations, which required the predirection employer toreinstate them on expiry of the period under direction. 154. In those early months of 1942 the Department was working against time.. Military mobilization rose during the year, until approximately one man in every three had been withdrawn from industry. A large part of the remaining labour force in industry had to be diverted to the construction of aerodromes, military camps and hospitals, and other military construction works. At the same time industry came under the most urgent demands for war equipment and food. Industrial mobilization had tokeep pace with this quickly-developing situation. Within twelve months 114,772 men and 110,503 women had been registered and their availability for direction to more important work reviewed. The compulsory diversion of men and women into more important jobs reached the total of 166,264 directions complied with by the time that Japan surrendered. Less than 2 per cent, of workers thus directed found cause to appeal against the actions taken. Including employers' appeals, the total percentage of appeals against directions was slightly over 3 per cent. 155. In directing workers from one employment to another it was inevitable that in some cases the workers would suffer a pecuniary loss. To compensate persons for loss of earnings as a result of directions, financial assistance was paid by the Department up to a limit of £2 a week, with an overall maximum (including financial assistance) of £8 a week in the case of male workers and £5 a week in the case of female workers (see Table 40 of the Appendix for details of financial assistance payments). Payment was also made of travelling-expenses and fares in respect of workers directed to employment away from their homes. In addition, payment of a separation allowance of 30s. a week was made to married men who, on direction to another centre, continued to maintain a home in the centre from which directed. (v) Restrictions on Engagement of Labour 156. To complete the effective control over man-power resources the regulationsalso empowered the Department to exercise a supervision over the inflow of labour into industries. This power was exercised through the Employment Restriction Order made under the regulations. This Order required' engagements of labour (other than farm, waterfront, and hospital workers, nurses and coal-miners) within all important urban areas to be subject to the prior consent of the District Man-power Officer. Automatic consent was given to the engagement of young persons under eighteen years of age, widows of servicemen, and down-graded returned servicemen. The requirement to obtain consent meant that employers did not make application for . labour unless they felt they had good grounds. Consequently, while the broad effect was to limit the applications for engagement and therefore the number of engagementsin less essential work, in the great majority of cases where application was made the grounds were strong and consent was granted. 157. From 14th May, 1942, when the Employment Restriction Order first to YJ Day (15th August, 1945) employers sought permission to engage 86,791 employeesin work not covered by a declaration of essentiality. Permission was granted in 82,241 cases and refused in the remainder —i.e., 4,550. Until 3rd April, 1944, only employers in non-essential undertakings were required to obtain consent under the Order. From that date onward, however, all employers had to do so. In addition to the applications from non-essential industry, applications to engage 46,522 employees in essential work were dealt with up to VJ Day, permission being granted in respect of 45,253 and refused in respect of the balance—-i.e., 1,269. Tables 30 and 31 of the Appendix further analyse applications dealt with.

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(vi) Notification of Termination of Employment in Non-essential Work 158. It was not necessary for either employers or workers to obtain the consent of the District Man-power Officer for termination of employment in non-essential work, but it was most necessary that District Man-power Officers should be aware of all such individual terminations so that workers leaving non-essential work could, at that point, be considered for direction to essential jobs. The regulations therefore required employers to notify District Man-power Officers of such terminations within twenty-four hours. (vii) Industrial Absenteeism Control 159. Industrial absenteeism is largely a reflection of workshop morale and the ability of management to evoke loyalty and interest in the job, and this was something which compulsory powers could not regulate. Nevertheless, some cognizance had to be taken of individual defaults which held up essential work or threw an unfair burden on residual staff. Consequently, provisions were incorporated in the regulations whereby the person who deliberately absented himself from work without sufficient reason could be penalized by a deduction of up to two days' pay from wages, the deductions being paid into the War Expenses Account. The obligation was placed on all employers in essential undertakings to report any absence from work which was without leave or without any reasonable excuse known to them. 160. The total number of complaints dealt with by District Man-power Officers to YJ Day was 48,237, these being disposed of in the following manner : (a) Offence not proved .. .. .. 11,252 (b) Warning given to worker .. .. .. 29,085 (c) Fine imposed .. .. .. .. 7,900 Complaints dealt with are further analysed in Tables 35 and 36 of the Appendix. (viii) Industrial Man-power Appeal Committees 161. With the introduction of industrial mobilization in January 1942, it became necessary to constitute independent authorities to deal with the appeals of workers and employers arising out of decisions of District Man-power Officers. Consideration was given to the suggestion that this work might well be performed by existing Armed Forces Appeal Boards or, as they were termed at the time, " District Advisory Manpower Committees." The extreme pressure under which these bodies were working at the time, and the desirability of establishing authorities especially equipped to deal with the industrial as distinct from the military aspect of compulsory national service, decided the Government against the proposal. It was decided, instead, to establish Man-power Appeal Committees, each of which would be composed of one representative of employer interests, one representative of employee interests, and a Chairman appointed independently by the Government. Four industrial Man-power Appeal Committees were established initially, with territories based on the four main centres and empowered to deal with all appeals arising out of the decisions of Man-power Officers in their respective territories. During 1942 the volume of work of Industrial Man-power Appeal Committees grew appreciably, and in. 1943 it was found necessary to establish two committees instead of one for the Wellington zone. 162. Appeals dealt with by committees to 31st March, 1946, totalled 14,450, these being disposed of as follows. Withdrawn .. .. .. .. 2,758 Dismissed .. .. .. .. 6,331 Upheld .. .. .. .. 5,361 163. It is interesting to note the percentage of appeals lodged to decisions and directions given by District Man-power Officers to 31st March, 1946. The total number of decisions and directions given by District Man-power Officers and subject to the right of appeal was 494,618. This figure comprises all directions to employment and applications for permission to terminate employment, all cases of absenteeism in respect of which fines were imposed and all declined applications for permission to engage workers. 2—H 11A

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The total number of appeals lodged was 14,450, representing only 2-9 per cent, of the total directions and decisions subject to right of appeal. The total number of appeals upheld was 5,361, representing only 1-08 per cent, of the total directions and decisions subject to right of appeal. The percentage of appeals would be even lower if based on the number of rights of appeal created by directions and decisions. It must be remembered that in many cases one decision created more than one right of appeal—e.g., the right of appeal could be exercised by both employer and worker where a worker was directed to transfer from employment in one undertaking to employment in another undertaking. The operations of Man-power Appeal Committees are analysed in detail in Tables 37, 38, and 39 of the Appendix. (ix) Man-power Utilization Councils and Committees 164. The necessity for the co-operation of workers' and employers' organizations (and, through them, of workers and employers individually) in the administration of the various man-power controls rendered desirable the establishment of joint advisory bodies representative of each important industry and set up in each main centre of that industry. The experience of similar Joint Committees in Great Britain and elsewhere provided the model, and shortly after the introduction of industrial mobilization in January, 1942, a number of joint advisory bodies, known as Man-power Utilization Councils and Committees, were established. The function of each Man-power Utilization Council (which was a national organization) was to advise the Department on all questions affecting the adequate staffing and the most economic utilization of labour in the industry as a whole. Local Committees tributary to these Councils undertook the functions of advising the District Man-power Officer and the Armed Forces Appeal Board on all questions affecting the most economic local utilization of labour. Utilization Councils and Committees were established as- the need arose until twenty-six industries were covered. Table 20 of the Appendix lists the local Committees attached to the various Utilization Councils appointed. (x) Medical Examination 165. In exercising control over industrial man-power the Department paid due regard to health factors, and where applications for exemption from or variation of man-power obligations were based on valid health reasons the decisions of District Man-power Officers were invariably made in accordance with the requirements of health. Where persons submitted reasons of health as grounds they were invited to submit medical certificates from their regular doctors. Persons having no regular doctors were extended the opportunity of undergoing a medical examination arranged by the Department at the Department's expense. In cases where there was conflicting or inconclusive medical evidence persons were referred to Industrial Medical Boards specially set up in man-power districts. (xi) Prosecutions 166. The delegation of compulsory powers must of necessity be accompanied by power to take appropriate action against those who, without reasonable excuse, delibeerately fail to comply with any obligation imposed upon them. Provision was therefore made in the Industrial Man-power Emergency Regulations for prosecutions to be taken against employers and workers committing offences under the regulations. Despite the fact that some 255,000 workers were subject to the control measures applying to essential undertakings alone, only 1,334 prosecutions had to be instituted from January, 1942, to 31st March, 1946. These were disposed of as follows : Total prosecutions instituted .. .. .. .. 1,334 Number of withdrawals .. .. .. .. .. .. 253 Number of convictions .. .. .. .. .. .. 1,010 Number of dismissals .. .. .. .. .. .. 38 Number adjourned or under action at 31st March, 1946 .. .. 33

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SECTION lI.—INDUSTRIAL PRIORITIES AND POLICY (i) Variability of Priorities 167. In the direction of labour to essential industries it was necessary to have regard to priorities and to regulate the flow of labour in accordance with such priorities. There was, for example, the distinction in priority between jobs declared essential and those not so declared. Within the essential jobs, however, there were some of greater urgency than others —practically the whole of the engineering industry was doing essential work ; nevertheless, if ship-repair work had a higher priority than general engineering, and if it required labour, other essential engineering jobs had to lose at least a proportion of their men to the shipyards. These priorities within the essential field were continuously varying according to war demands and other circumstances. Priorities had to be continually redetermined in the light of the events and circumstances of the moment. The direction'of labour necessarily followed priorities, and changes took place as the. priorities themselves changed. The following subsections set out briefly the main features of man-power policy in relation to the more important war-time industries. (ii) Farming 168. In the early months of the war no special importance attached to the farming industry. World food sources had not been disturbed, and the effects of submarine warfare seemed likely to throw strong emphasis on conservation of shipping by shortening of supply lines. Under such circumstances the farming industry neither expected nor received any special protection. Consequently considerable numbers of farm workers entered the Armed Forces. The loss of Denmark and the Low Countries in May, 1940, greatly (and unexpectedly) altered the picture. The loss of these sources of food and the certainty of a long and difficult struggle raised food-producing throughout the Empire to a priority level, although there was still some uncertainty as to whether shipping difficulties would enable supplies to be cleared from such distant sources as New Zealand. During the 1910-41 season, therefore, farming remained on the priority border-line, with the brake being increasingly applied to the recruitment of farm workers. 169. Before the opening of the 1941-42 season the position of the New Zealand farming industry had crystalized to a clear first priority. For that season the United Kingdom asked for a diversion of a portion of the country's dairying industry from buttermaking to cheesemaking, and, with the assistance of the Government, nearly four thousand milk-suppliers were changed over and New Zealand increased her cheese-production in one year by 29-7 per cent. In the following year Britain's needs required a change back to butter-production, and the switch over was made accordingly. These changes inevitably involved considerable man-power adjustments both within the industry and in ancillary industries supplying containers and plant. 170. The Japanese attack in December, 1941, followed by the swift progress of Japanese Forces in a southward thrust towards Australia and New Zealand, necessitated the speedy mobilization of considerable Forces for home defence in the early months of 1942. The .protection of the Dominion's own shores had to come first, and the farming industry, in common with all others, had to make a further contribution of man-power to the Armed Forces. As in all other industries, 1942 was the farming industry's most difficult year. By the end of 1942 the Japanese drive in the South Pacific had been stopped, and it became possible to reduce the home-defence Forces. The farming industry and its ancillaries then received the first and largest measure of help. Up to 31st March, 1943, some 8,200 farm workers who had entered the Forces were released to build up the 1942-43 production. This number comprised more than half of a total of 16,000odd men released from home-defence Forces during the same period. o*

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171. From March, 1943, to March, 1944, the farming industry continued to receive assistance. While no industry during this critical period could be exempt from contributing to the increasing man-power requirements of the overseas Forces, the position in the farming industry was conserved as much as possible, and, although March, 1944, saw the estimated labour content of the industry still some 12,000 below the pre-war level, the following steps to alleviate the shortage had been taken: — (a) Further release of selected personnel from the home-defence Forces was effected, and 4,115 men, or 20-7 per cent, of the total man-powered out of the Forces during the year, were released for farming. (b) A campaign to build up the strength of the Women's Land Service was launched. The number in the Service in consequence rose from 954 in September, 1943, to 1,879 as at 31st March, 1944. (c) Holiday schemes to employ University students, teachers, and school-children were organized—--1,733 teachers and students were placed during the college vacation, and 767 school-children were placed. (d) With the co-operation of the Army and the Air Force, an Army and Air Force Harvesting Scheme was organized. Of 13,240 men made available, farmers took advantage of the services of 6,915. (e) Male workers were directed from other industries to the farming industry. Between October, 1943, and March, 1944, 457 men were so directed. 172. By the beginning of 1944 the demand for foodstuffs and other farm products by the United Kingdom and both the American and New Zealand Forces in the Pacific became so great that it was decided to bring back those men of the Third (Pacific) Division who would volunteer for farming or other selected essential work. 173. It was estimated that 7,000 men could be absorbed by the farming industry, and plans for the return of Third Division personnel to meet this estimate proceeded accordingly. At the same time action was taken to obtain returns of actual labour requirements from farmers. The response by the farming community was slow and disappointing. Although farmers' organizations had been stressing the acuteness of the labour shortage, and despite intensive publicity, applications for these men were notified to the Department in dilatory fashion. Applications totalled only 107 as at 28th April, 1944, and this figure increased to 973 by 10th May, 1944, and 1,713 by 26th May, 1944. At this point the quota to be released from the Third Division for farm work had to be revised in the light of applications received, and reduced to 5,000. As late returns from farmers continued to come to hand the vacancies notified increased to 3,337 by 30th June, 1944, and 4,504 by 31st July, 1944. The labour needs of the farming industry as notified were fully met, and at the end of November, 1944, 4,286 of a total of 9,100 men released from the Third Division were working on farms. 174. Between March, 1944, and March, 1945, the Department assisted the farming industry in the following ways : (a) Releases from the Armed Forces, 6,386, or 26-2 per cent, of the total man-power releases, including Third Division personnel, were for farming. (b) Further expansion of the Women's Land Service—i.e., from 1,879 to a peak strength of 2,088 at 30th September, 1944, despite increasing shortage of female wqrkers generally. (c) Vocational placement of 1,169 teachers and students and 239 school-children. (d) Placement of men made available through the Army and Air Force Harvesting Schemes—--3,550 such men were availed of by farmers. (e) Direction of male workers from other industries —1,309 to the end of March, 1945. 175. Up to the end of 1944 Armed Forces Appeal Boards had continued to postpone the military service of farm workers except in those cases where replacements were available or release from the industry could be effected without loss of production. District Man-power Officers screened mobilization lists, and appeals were lodged by the Department in respect of farm workers in those cases where the farmers had omitted to appeal and it was considered wise to have Appeal Boards investigate the desirability or otherwise of holding the men in the industry. At the commencement of 1945, however, in order to maintain the Division in the Middle East and at the same time continue the replacement scheme whereby long-service personnel were returned to New

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Zealand for demobilization, a commencement was made with a special review of •Category "A" men held in the farming industry on appeal. Category "A" men held in other industries had already been reviewed similarly. In this special review of men in the farming industry whose military service had been postponed, the aim was to release up to 20 per cent, in replacement of the men returning from the Middle East. The review proceeded, but before the Forces had absorbed all the men released by Appeal Boards, Germany had capitulated, and the intake of these farm workers into the Forces ceased. 176. Numbers of fit men in the farming industry withheld from military service by Armed Forces Appeal Boards as at varying dates were as follows: 31st March, 1943 .. .. .. 13,013 (Grade I). 31st March, 1944 .. .. .. 13,660 (Grade I). 28th February, 1945 .. .. 13,124 (Category "A"). 15th August, 1945 .. .. *9,292 (Category " A "), representing 45 per cent. of all Category " A " men held in industry on appeal. 177. From the collapse of Germany onward a steadily increasing outflow of men from the Armed Forces to the farming industry has continued. .In addition, during the same period, District Man-power Officers effected the voluntary placement of civilian workers in farm employment wherever possible. At 31st March, 1946, the notified vacancies for farm workers were as follows : Sheep-farms .. .. .. .. 92 Dairy farms .. .. .. .. 46 Other farms .. .. .. .. .. 135 Total .. .. .. .. 273 This represents a decrease of 567, or slightly more than 67 per cent, on the vacancies recorded as at March, 1945. (iii) Sawmilling 178. In sawmilling, priority remained high right throughout the war years. . This was due to the constant and increasing demands for timber to meet the building and construction programme referred to in paragragh 192 of this report. The remote and heavy nature of the work, the lack of accommodation and amenities, and rigorous working-conditions are responsible for a high normal wastage from the industry. These factors also greatly accentuated the Department's difficulties in providing labour, as, combined with the intake of fit men into the Forces, they limited the pool of labour from which men could be drawn for sawmills. 179. Prior to August, 1941, the Department had exercised some screening of mobilization lists to ensure that appeals to secure postponement of military service were lodged in respect of the most vital key men in the sawmilling industry. By that time 1,804 had left the industry to join the Forces and 87 were held in the industry on appeal. The loss to the industry, which had a pre-war content of under 7,000, had therefore been substantial, and it was apparent that production was declining. As a consequence three special committees were appointed (one in the North Island and two in the South Island) to investigate the circumstances of the industry from the point of view of man-power and production. The investigation revealed that the daily rate of cutting had fallen between 12 per cent, and 16 per cent, in a period of abour fifteen months, representing annually a reduction of some 40,000,000 board feet. In the same period the labour force in mills had fallen from 6,720 to 5,830, a drop of 890, or 13 per cent. Allowing for the loss of 1,804 workers to the Forces, the net gain from other sources was 914.

* The figures to 31st March, 1944, comprise all Grade I men aged twenty to forty inclusive. The figures for 1945 comprise all Grade I men aged twenty-one to thirty-five inclusive with fewer than three children and who had had less than three years' overseas service—i.e., all men coming within the revised definition of Category " A."

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180. Another serious difficulty revealed was the lack of adequate coastal shipping to transport timber from Westland to North Island ports. The demands on shipping due to the war had greatly increased and the coastal fleet available for normal activity had diminished accordingly. It was estimated that the South Island had an annual surplus of 15,000,000 board feet of rimu which was sufficient to meet the North Island deficiency, but the necessary shipping was not available, and no solution could be found to this transport problem. 181. The importance of the timber industry to the war effort was indicated by the fact that at least 85 per cent, of all timber produced was, by November, 1941, being used for essential defence purposes, including the construction of military camps, and hospitals, and the manufacture of containers for munitions and primary produce. In the following few months, as a consequence of Japan's entry into the conflict, the demand for timber was further increased by reason of the huge defence-works programme which had to be undertaken, including Air Force expansion and the provision of equipment, stores, and military camps for the American Forces in New Zealand. The fact that this additional programme was necessarily to be undertaken in the North Island added materially to the difficulties of the situation. 182. At that point the following measures were adopted to protect and build up the labour force in the industry : (а) Provision was made for the regular weekly hours of employment in North Island mills to be increased from forty to forty-eight. (б) Steps were taken to effect the release from the home Forces of experienced sawmill workers, and these men were directed to North Island mills despite the fact that many were normally employed in South Island mills. During the period June, 1942, to March, 1943, Armed Forces Appeal Boards made recommendations for the release of 315 men for return to the industry. (c) The postponement from military service by Armed Forces Appeal Boards of both skilled and unskilled sawmill workers. Whereas at August, 1941, 87 men were held in the industry by the action of Appeal Tribunals, by 31st March, 1943, this figure had increased to 1,124. (d) The gazetting of a special Order requiring men with experience as timber-workers to register with District Man-power Officers. This enabled District Man-power Officers to direct back to the mills men who had acquired experience in the work but had drifted into other occupations. 183. The period Ist April, 1943, to 31st March, 1944, was one of continued endeavour on the part of the Department to ensure the adequate staffing of the industry. Recorded vacancies at the commencement of the year were fairly steady at from 300 to 400. The home Forces were combed for experienced sawmill workers, and during the year 317 were released for return to the industry. 184. To relieve the labour shortage men o£ the Forestry Unit were returned from England to the Dominion in November, 1943. Some 250 were directed into the timber industry from this source. Owing to continued shipping difficulties, directions were again made to North Island mills as far as possible. 185. As at 31st March, 1944, 1,173 Grade I men were held in the industry on appeal. 186. With the tapering-off of defence construction works the demand for timber was not eased, as it was vitally necessary to resume the building of houses, which had come to a standstill during the period of concentration on defence works. Consequently the timber industry continued to require all possible assistance in the period Ist April, 1944, to 31st March, 1945. During this period the industry was greatly assisted by the decision to return the Third (Pacific) Division to the Dominion and to direct to priority industries those members who responded to the appeal to volunteer for essential work as an alternative to further military service. Of 9,100 men of the Third Division held in industry under direction as at 30th November, 1944, 474 were employed in logging and sawmilling. In addition, 194 men were released from the home Forces to the industry in the period Ist April, 1944, to 31st March, 1945. A special survey of the industry was undertaken at the end of 1944 covering bush and town mills. The survey revealed that there were 321 units operating in the industry, the labour force of which had increased during 1944 from 6,561 to 6,780, notwithstanding an outflow of 1,788 men.

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187. At 28th February, 1945, 1,112 Category " A " men were held in the industry on appeal. 188. Shipping between the North and South Islands remained a serious problem, and again the policy of directing all available man-power to North Island mills was followed. 189. In the year ended 31st March, 1946, owing to the housing situation, the demand for timber again exceeded the supply, and the man-power content of the industry continued to be safeguarded by a strict surveillance of applications to leave the industry. A further 58 men were released from the Forces to the industry by the direct action of District Man-power Officers from 15th August, 1945, to 31st March, 1946. As at VJ Day, 1,051. Category "A " men were held in the industry on Appeal. (iv) Building and Construction 190. At the outbreak of war the labour force in the building and construction industry was mainly engaged on housing construction. As mobilization proceeded, the construction of military camps was undertaken, but in the early stages no decisive moves were called for to protect the labour force in the industry. As the war situation developed, so the emphasis moved from housing construction to works directly associated with the war effort. The issue of building permits was controlled by the Building Controller, and by March, 1941, the following preference in the issue of permits was being adhered to : Defence works. Hospital construction. Storage of primary produce, new dairy factories, &c. New factories for secondary industries. Housing construction. Other building works. There was, however, no difficulty in manning important jobs. 191. By November, 1941, the industry generally was working from forty-five to fifty-four hours a week. 192. The entry of Japan into the war in December, 1941, caused the industry to advance almost immediately from one of no great priority to one of high priority. An enormous defence-construction programme had to be undertaken, and this necessitated immediate steps to ensure that military works were adequately manned. Defence works became a first priority, while housing and other building works were brought almost to a standstill. 193. In March, 1942, defence works, which included building and construction for the Army, Navy, and Air Force and the construction of hospitals, cool-stores, freezing-works, air-raid shelters, and factories whose production was mainly for war purposes, were covered by a declaration of essentiallity, and workers with experience in the building industry were required to register with District Man-power Officers, who were thus able to divert them from low priority to high priority jobs. Building Committees were established in each district with separate sub-committees to deal with the allocation of labour. In order to fulfil the defence-works programme, mobility of labour was essential, and (working in collaboration with Building Committees) District Man-power Officers arranged transfers of groups of workers and individual workers as required. Provision was made in March, 1942, in the Defence Works Labour Legislation Suspension Order 1942 for the working of a minimum fifty-four-hour week on defence works. In June, 1942, the minimum weekly hours of work were reduced to forty-eight.

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194. In June and July, 1942, the demands on the industry were intensified still further as a consequence of two major earthquakes in the Wellington district, which caused extensive damage. Earthquake-damage-repair work had to be added to the priority list, and men were brought to Wellington to cope with the more urgent repair jobs. At this point the industry was being called upon for gigantic efforts and was experiencing its most strenuous period of the war. Men employed in the industry were being withheld from military service, and home-defence personnel were being released to assist the industry to cope with the tremendous volume of defence works. 195. At this stage it is interesting to note the progressive effect on the housingconstruction programme of the diversion of the industry's efforts to meet the requirements of the war. Permits issued for new dwellings in urban districts fell from 8,086 for the year ended 31st March, 1940, to 7,147 in the year ended 31st March, 1941, dropped to 5,503 in the year ended 31st March, 1942, and fell away to 863 in the year ended 31st March, 1943. 196. The year 1943 brought a gradual easement in one direction as military works were brought to completion, but as priority lessened in respect of military works it rose correspondingly in other building activities associated with the war effort —namely, the expansion of munition-manufacturing, the building of linen-flax factories, food processing and canning factories, the provision of additional export storage space, and the development of hydro-electric schemes —notably the Karapiro project. 197. In June, 1943, the Defence Works Labour Legislation Suspension Order 1942 was replaced by the Essentia! Building Works Labour Legislation Modification Order 1943, which had wider application, applying not only to defence works, but also to the construction of hospitals and to any other works to which the Minister of Works declared that the provisions of the Order should apply and also to the construction of State houses in the North Island. A minimum forty-eight hour week, was prescribed for works coming within the scope of the order which also provided for the reorganization of Building Committees. 198. Priorities within the industry continued to be determined by the Building Controller, who.also continued to deal with all applications for building permits. 199. In September, 1943, the declaration of essentiality affecting the industry was amended to cover all undertakings certified by the Building Controller as being works to which the Essential Building Works Labour Legislation Modification Order 1943 applied. 200. Up to 31st March, 1943, the industry had received assistance through the direction back into the industry of a number of men with previo'us experience, and through the constant realignment of labour throughout the industry in accordance with job priorities. During the twelve months from Ist April, 1943, to 31st March, 1944, while 337 men were made available to the Armed Forces from the industry, 1,691 men were released from the Armed Forces to it, and from October, 1943, to March, 1944, a further 890 directed into it from other industries. As at 31st March, 1943,1,820 Grade I men were held in the industry on appeal. 201. During 1944 the industry was assisted considerably by the direction to building and construction jobs of volunteers from the Third (Pacific) Division, of whom 1,386 were employed in the industry under direction at the end of November, 1944. In November, 1944', in order to meet the man-power requirements of the overseas Forces, an intensive comb-out of Category " A " men held in the industry on appeal was undertaken, and during the period Ist November, 1944, to 30th April, 1945, 768 men were released to the Forces. From Ist April, 1944, to 31st March, 1945, man-power releases from the Forces to the industry, however, totalled 3,2'23, including releases from the Third (Pacific) Division. Directions from other industries' during the same period amounted to 2,222 and directions of disengaged persons aggregated 521, giving a total inflow of labour of 5,966 men over the twelve months.

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202. The Essential Building Works Labour Legislation Modification Order 1943 was revoked on Ist August, 1945, thus permitting employees engaged on work coming within the scope of the Order to revert to a forty-hour week. The revocation of the Order necessitated a revocation of the declarations of essentiality relating to the industry, and new declarations were gazetted covering the construction of hospital, and school buildings (including alterations and additions), and the building of new houses —both State and private. Other high priority building and constructional works, such as hydro-electric schemes, were individually declared essential where the jobs could not be adequately manned on a voluntary basis. At the same time it was arranged that the National Building Committee and District Building Committees set up under the Essential Building Works Labour Legislation Modification Order 1943 should function as the National Man-power Utilization Council and District Man-power Utilization Committees for the building industry. 203. Nevertheless, despite the steadily increasing flow of man-power back into the Industry from the overseas Forces since the end of hostilities and the further direction of some 3,250 other personnel into the industry over the twelve months ended on 31st March, 1946, overall vacancies in the industry remained at the high figure of 1,818 on the 31st March, 1946. 204. Numbers of Grade I men held in the industry on appeal as at varying dates was as follows : 31st March, 1943 .. .. jt jj. », ±. e • i • 31st March' 1944 .. .. 1^926/ Grade 1 men aged twent y to fort y y ears mclusive. 98th -FVhnmrv 1Q45 1 Grade 1 men aged twent y-° ne to thirty-five years a ! ~ inclusive with fewer than three children and having 15th August, 1945 .. .. 658J had legs than three yearg , overseas service . (v) Coalmining 205. Because of the direct and indirect dependence of so many essential services, factories, &c., on the coal-mining industry, the production of coal has remained a first priority throughout the war. The difficulties of the Department in ensuring an adequate supply of labour in the mines were accentuated by reason of the normal high wastage from the industry, the shortage of fit men other than those held on appeal, lack of suitable accommodation in mining townships, and the heavy nature of the work and industrial risks involved. 206. Increased production was achieved as a consequence of the opening-up of opencast mines, increased use of machines, the voluntary working of additional hours, and the building-up of the labour force in the industry from 4,939 in 1939 to 5,705 in October, 1945. Production rose gradually from 2,342,639 tons in 1939 to 2,805,970 tons in 1944 and 2,833,576 tons in 1945, constituting an all-time record for the Dominion. 207. The distribution of the labour force in the industry as at October, 1945, was as follows :• — West Coast and Nelson .. .. .. .. .. 2,521 Waikato and Whangarei .. .. .. .. .. 2,169 Otago and Southland .. .. .. .. .. 913 Canterbury and South Canterbury .. .. .. .. 102 Total .. .. .. .. .. 5,705 Mine-workers as a class were withheld from military service in order to protect the industry, and wherever possible the Department arranged for the release and direction back to the mines of Armed Forces personnel with previous mining experience. Inexperienced men in the Forces volunteering for work in the mines were also released and placed under direction to the industry.

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Numbers of category " A " men held in the industry on appeal as at varying dates were as follows : 31st March., 1943 .. .. 1,9001 , , , , „ , . , . 31st March'l944 .. .. a § ed twenty to forty y ears molusive31st March, 1945 .. .. 1,100 Men aged twenty-one to thirty-five years inclusive with fewer than three children and less than three years' overseas service. . The principal figures relating to releases from the Forces by the action of Armed Forces Appeal Boards and District Man-power Officers are — Year ended 31st March, 1943 .. 271 The figure for this year includes a small number released for gold and scheelite mining. Year ended 31st March, 1944 .. 163 Year ended 31st March, 1945 .. 232. Including 140 Third (Pacific) Division personnel. 208. Notified vacancies in the industry as at 31st March, 1946, totalled 184. (vi) Transport and Communications 209. Under this heading are included shipping, road-transport services, local-body bus and tram services, and all services provided by the Post and Telegraph and Railways Departments. 210. Shipping.—The maintenance of shipping services in times of war is obviously vital to the successful prosecution of war. For this reason it was the general policy of the Department to give absolute priority to shipping in the matter of labour requirements throughout the war years. By reason of its attendant wartime risks, seafaring was regarded in much the same light as service with the Armed Forces, and regular merchant seamen were not mobilized for military service. Generally speaking, no shortage of ships' personnel was experienced, and volunteers were forthcoming for vacancies as they arose. 211. Road Transport.—ln the first two years of war road-transport services, in common with most industries, lost many experienced drivers to the Armed Forces. By May, 1942, it was necessary to withhold from military service by appeal experienced drivers required for cartage of materials for defence works in Auckland and Wellington. Experienced drivers engaged in other essential driving jobs were also being held on appeal where satisfactory arrangements for replacement could not be made. In March, 1942, a Man-power Utilization Council for the road-transport industry was set up, followed by the setting-up of local Utilization Committees in October of that year. 212. By September, 1942, petrol and tire restrictions, resulting in the curtailment of less-essential services and the zoning of deliveries, were responsible for some easing in the labour situation within the industry, this being taken up by a continuing withdrawal of personnel to the Forces. The industry was declared essential in October, 1942, although even at this point it required no special man-power priority. By December, 1942, some inflow of experienced drivers released from home service had set in, this being largely offset, however, by the continuing call-up of men fit for overseas service as these could be replaced. Although most employers experienced difficulties at some stage, the industry generally encountered no serious difficulties throughout the war, despite the relatively severe draw-off of men into the Forces. On 31st March, 1945, only 461 category "A " men were held on appeal in motor services, including garage employees. 213. Local-body Bus and Tram Services. —The operations of the tramway services in the four main centres and in Invercargill, Wanganui, and New Plymouth were declared essential in April, 1942. By this time the loss of staff to the Armed Forces was being severely felt, particularly in view of the overloading thrown on such services by restrictions on tires and petrol. The declaration at that stage did not cover conductors or car-cleaners, as it was considered that these classes of workers could be replaced, as vacancies arose, by the appointment of women.

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214. In June, 1942, a Tramways Man-power Utilization Council was set up, and in the same month the declaration of essentiality in respect of tramway services was extended to cover permanent conductors. After consideration by the Utilization Council, it was decided, owing to the general male labour shortage, that vacancies for conductors were to be filled by the appointment of women, except where District Man-power Officers could be satisfied that suitable women were not available. In August, 1942, Local Tramway Man-power Utilization Committees were established in the seven centres operating tramway services. 215. By 1943 a growth in absenteeism, attributable to some extent to war conditions, was noticeable, and to assist in reducing it to a minimum small local committees, representative of workers and employers, were established. These committees did very good work and were effective in keeping within limits the wastage of man-power through this cause. 216. By mid-1944, despite the engagement of considerable numbers of women conductors, it became apparent that in at least some centres the amount of overtime required to maintain services with the staffs available was excessive. A special survey carried out in May, 1944, revealed the following average weekly hours of work in the four main centres :

217. Arising from the survey disclosures, special endeavours were made to supplement tlie staffs of the tramway services in Auckland and Wellington with the aim of reducing average hours of work to forty-eight hours, or six days each week. These efforts were only partially successful, owing to a high wastage of labour attributed mainly to the strain of long hours and to the fact that many of the fittest men were serving in the Forces. 218. The staffing needs of the tramway services were not limited to the traffic branch. In the difficult days of 1942 and 1943, when other works, particularly the defence programme, were claiming the highest priority, it had not been possible to maintain the normal gangs on track repair and maintenance work. In 1944 and 1945, however, owing to deterioration in the state of tracks, this work demanded attention and was accorded high priority. In Wellington, where the position was particularly acute, 70 men were directed to track-repair and maintenance work during the year ended 31st March, 1945. 219. Towards the end of 1944, owing to the extreme shortage of female labour for industry in general, and having regard to the prospect of some improvement in the male labour situation as a result of reductions in the home Forces, the recruitment of additional female conductors was discontinued. In respect of male labour, however, tramway services continued to be accorded high priority right throughout 1945, and were still experiencing staffing difficulties when the declaration of essentiality and the Tramways Industry Labour Legislation Modification Order were revoked on 9th March, 1946. At the latter point, however, the Department had taken steps to alleviate the position in Wellington, where it was most acute (see paragraph 471). 220. Post and Telegraph Department.—This section of the transport and communications industry lost heavily in man-power, losing some 6,000 men to the Armed Forces. These losses were largely offset, however, by the engagement of some 4,000 women for clerical work, telegram, parcel, and letter delivery, driving, and light manual

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Motormen. Male Conductors. Female Conductors. Bus-drivers. Hr. m. Hr. m. Hr. m. Hr. m. Auckland 50 13 51 43 50 16 42 30 Wellington 53 48 54 4 42 51 52 28 Christchurch 47 21 46 33 45 51 45 58 Dunedin 43 0 44 30 45 15 46 0

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work. As at 31st December, 1944, out of a total staff of approximately 12,000, the Post and Telegraph Department was holding only 232 men on appeal, all of whom were technicians, mostly engaged substantially on work directly for the Armed Services. 221. Railways.—The Railways Department was embarrassed early in the war by the despatch of a railway operational unit to the Middle East and by the progressive mobilization of other members of its staff. Added to this difficulty was that created by the huge increase, particularly in 1942 and 1943, in goods and passenger traffic due to troop movements, centralized shipping, and petrol-restrictions. 222. By March, 1942, 5,862 railway workers, representing approximately 25 per cent, of the pre-war strength, were absent with the Forces. In addition, 2,143 workers had been lost from the outbreak of war by way of resignations and retirements. Up to 31st March, 1942, 4,676 special troop trains had been provided, conveying 2,574,400 troops. Overtime for a four-weekly period at that time totalled 300,000 hours for trainoperating staff alone, and unfilled vacancies numbered 3,783. At that point it became necessary to postpone the military service of large numbers of workers being called by ballot. The Locomotive staff were working, on an average, sixty hours a week, excluding Sunday work. To ease the position the National Service Department arranged the release from home service of seventy-five members of the Locomotive staff. 223. By August, 1942, the Workshops staff had fallen from a pre-war total of 7,244 to 4,807. The workshops were then undertaking the manufacture of war materials, and this additional work, combined with the reduction in staff, was restricting the performance of essential repair and maintenance work. 224. The sixteenth and seventeenth ballots for military service in August and September, 1942, included the names of a further 2,404 railway workers, and appeals were lodged in respect of 2,151 of these men. 225. The railways adopted the policy of accepting women for portering work and as at August, 1942, 100 women were so engaged. 226. By March, 1943, 6,887 officers of the Department were on military service out of a total pre-war staff of 25,765. When it is realized that such a high percentage of staff was released to the Forces by a service so essential to the economic life and the war effort of the Dominion, some appreciation is gained of the magnitude of the contribution of Government Departments to the man-power requirements of the Armed Forces —a contribution which compared more than favourably with industry in general* (Government Departments under Public Service Commissioner control had only 626 Category " A " men held on appeal as at February, 1945, most of these being men with professional and scientific qualifications. Of the 626 held on appeal, 310 were employed in the Public Works, Scientific and Industrial Research, and Mental Hospitals Departments. As at October, 1945, some 7,000 men were still in the Forces.) 227. At this stage it is interesting to compare the contribution of New Zealand Railways to the Forces with the contribution of railways in other parts of the Empire.. As at March, 1943, in Canada B*l per cent, of the pre-war railways strength were serving in the Forces ; in Victoria, 9*9 per cent., in New South Wales, 11*5 per cent. ; in Great Britain, 14*5 per cent. ; and in New Zealand, 26 per cent. 228. In April, 1943, a special Advisory Committee was set-up for the purpose of examining appeals in respect of railway workers. This Committee was responsible for seeing that further railway workers were not released to the Forces if their services were more urgently needed by the Railways Department, and also for ensuring that railway employees were not withheld from military service where they could be released without serious embarrassment. The findings of the Committee in each individual case Were referred to the appropriate Armed Forces Appeal Board, which continued to be the sole deciding authority in the matter of appeals.

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229. In July, 1943, 771 members of the Railway Operating Unit were returned from the Middle East. The return of these men to duty with the Railways Department provided a much needed degree of relief, although it fell far short of meeting the total requirements. 230. The loss of staff by the railways had necessarily resulted in the curtailment of some of the normal activities, including work on the tracks. By November, 1943, it was apparent that, for the continued safety of passengers and train crews, either speeds would have to be reduced in certain sections, or additional labour would have to be provided for track-maintenance work. As a consequence, permanent-way maintenance rose to an even higher priority than the traffic and workshops branches. District Man-power Officers pursued an active direction policy-in respect of the three branches mentioned, but the difficulties of providing suitable men for work on the permanent-way were extreme. An accentuating factor was that men for this class of work, involving the handling of heavy rails, required to be physically fit, but the pool of fit men had been drained by the Forces. A further difficulty was that the work involved living away from home and moving from place to place. However, material assistance was given by the direction to permanent-way work of fit seasonal workers during the off-season. 231. The decision to return the Third (Pacific) Division to New Zealand provided the means of giving substantial relief to the railways from the middle of 1944. Members of the Division volunteering for work with the railways were directed accordingly, and by November, 1944, 811 Third Division personnel were engaged in railways work under direction. 232. Meanwhile the implementation of the replacement scheme whereby the Middle East Division required not only the normal flow of reinforcements, but also replacements for long-service personnel being repatriated, necessitated a thinning out of Category "A " men held in industry on appeal. A review of men held on appeal was accordingly undertaken at the beginning of 1945, and, in common with practically all other industries, a quota of 20 per cent, of the railway employees whose military service had been previously postponed was made available to the Forces. This loss was partly offset by the return to the railway of former members of that Department returning to the Dominion with the replacement drafts. 233. General. —Particulars of Grade I men held on appeal in transport and communications at varying dates throughout the war are as follows :-r-

234. The figures quoted for 1943 and. 1944 relate to Grade I men aged twenty to forty inclusive and Air Force and naval volunteers. The figures for 1945 comprise all Grade I men aged twenty-one to thirty-five inclusive with fewer than three children and who had less than three years' overseas service, together with all Air Force and naval volunteers.

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31st March, 31st March, j 28th February, 15th August, 1943. 1944. 1945. 1945. Railways (including workshops and 2,781 2,872 2,095 1,956 motor services) Tramways (including workshops) .. 212 197 53 43 Motor services n.e.i. (including 1,288 1,212 461 339 garages; Shipping and harbour services .. 2,171 2,111 112* 74* Air services 17 19 12 15 Post and Telegraph and radio broad517 575 360 323 casting Totals 6,986 6,986 3,093 2,750 * These figures exclude ship's personnel.

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235. During the period Ist June, 1942, to 22nd March, 1943, Aimed Forces Appeal Boards made recommendations for release from military service of 611 men for employment on transport and communications. Of these, 399 were for motor transport, 82 for railways, 81 for harbour services, and 49 for other services. 236. In the years ended 31st March, 1944, and 31st March, 1945, releases from the Forces to the industry arranged by District Man-power Officers and Armed Forces Appeal Boards totalled 2,781 and 3,078, made up as follows

237. Directions to employment in this group of industries issued by District Manpower Officers totalled 4,782 in the period Ist April, 1944, to 31st March, 1945. 238. Recorded vacancies as at 31st March, 1946, were as follows :

(vii) Clothing and Woollen Manufacturing 239. Clothing-factories.—The clothing-factories in the Dominion were called upon during the war years to manufacture battle-dress, greatcoats, and other garments of all descriptions in large quantities not only for the equipping of our own Forces, but also for Allied Forces overseas. Clothing-factories engaged substantially on military contracts were included in the first list of declarations of essentiality issued in January, 1942. Later in that year a national Man-power Utilization Council and local Utilization Committees were set up in the industry to assist primarily in meeting the very heavy demands upon it for military production and the consequential effects of this upon essential civilian production. By August the labour position in the industry as a whole had become such that the declarations of essentiality were extended to cover the greater part of the industry. Within the field covered by declarations, however, the Department continued to distinguish between three groups —factories engaged preponderantly on military contracts, which held a first priority; factories engaged preponderantly on utility civilian garments in critically short short supply, which held a second priority; and other factories which held no priority and were rather in the category of a reserve of labour. 240. Clothing-factories employ predominantly female labour, and by the end of 1943 the acute shortage of such labour throughout all industries, together with the mounting arrears of essential civilian production caused through the urgency of the demand for military production, had brought the industry to a critical position. In November, 1943, a National Garment Control Council and District Garment Control Committees

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— Year ended 31st March, 1944. Year ended 31st March, 1945. Railways (including workshops and motor services) Motor services n.e.i. (including garages) Other transport services Post and Telegraph and radio broadcasting 1,260 762 339 420 1,227 952 446 453 Totals 2,781 3,078

• Males. Females. Total. Railways 816 22 838 Tramways 71 71 Motor services 114 14 128 Shipping services 13 8 21 Air services 1 1 Post and Telegraph and radio broadcasting.. 341 21 362 Totals 1,355 66 1,421

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were set up to maintain a close watch on production and to set production targets for critical lines. With, such targets established it became possible for District Man-power Officers, assisted by Utilization Committees, to take much more drastic steps to transfer labour into factories prepared to concentrate on these critical lines. 241. As at 31st March, 1915, some 4,000 women were working under man-power direction in the clothing-manufacturing industry. At this point the number employed in clothing-factories was some 15,000, with a further 1,700 employed in allied types of factory (gloves, canvas goods, &c.). 242. A notable feature of the industry has been the growing tendency, particularly in the war years, to decentralize. In 1939, of the 585 factories, 515 were located in the four main centres and 70 in secondary towns. In 1945, of the 615 factories then operating, 524 were situated in the four main centres, constituting an increase of 9, or 1-7 per cent., whereas 91 were operating in secondary towns, representing an increase of 21, or 30 per cent. This tendency towards decentralization was due to the greater availability of female labour in secondary towns. The Department was largely responsible for the move to decentralize by carrying out surveys of available female labour in secondary towns and advising manufacturers on their prospects of staffing new factories in such localities. 243. Notified vacancies in the industry as at 31st March, 1916, were for 93 males and 3,489 females. This latter figure represented more than one-third of the total notified female vacancies for all industries, and it is obvious from the vacancy figures that the shortage of female labour in the industry is extreme. The vacancies naturally increased considerably as women left the industry following the revocation of the declaration of essentiality on 31st January, 1946, which, at that date, applied to 302 clothing-manufacturing concerns. In order to overcome the female labour shortage a number of employers have in recent months engaged men for training as machinists, and from early reports are well satisfied with the progress being made. It seems likely that the swing towards the use of male labour in this field will become more pronounced in the future. 244. Woollen-mills and Allied.—The production of woollen, hosiery, and allied factories has remained of the utmost importance throughout the war years by reason of the military contracts undertaken and of the dependence of the clothing industry upon the output of the woollen-milling industry. Consequently, the Department has retained this industry on a first priority throughout and has exerted every effort to maintain its labour force. 245. A recent survey carried out by the Department showed that in 1939 there were 14 woollen-mill units in the industry employing 1,245 males and 1,922 females, while in October, 1945, the number of units was unchanged, but male employees had increased to 1,618 and females to 2,009. 246. Unfortunately, mill managements were not prepared to co-operate with the Department to the extent of appointing representatives to a national Man-power Utilization Council for the industry, or to local Man-power Utilization Committees. The absence of this co-operation made the realignment of labour rather more difficult than in the clothing industry, where the assistance of employers on the Committees contributed very materially towards the remarkable build-up in staff that was achieved in that industry. Nor did the woollen-mills make an effort comparable with that of clothing-factories to secure staff independently of the Department's efforts. During 1943, 1944, and first quarter of 1945 the industry was assisted by the issue of over 1,000 effective directions, the bulk of which were issued to female workers. 247. Recorded vacancies in woollen and knitting mills as at 31st March, 1946, were : Males .. .. .. .. .. 69 Females .. .. .. .. 550

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248. Releases from the Forces. —During the period June, 1942, to March, 1943, inclusive, Armed Forces Appeal Boards made recommendations for the release from military service of 112 persons for employment in textile and clothing manufacture. In the years ended 31st March, 1944, and 31st March, 1945, Armed Forces Appeal Boards and District Man-power Officers effected the release from the Forces of 290 and 297 persons respectively for employment in textile and clothing manufacture. 249. Numbers withheld from Military Service on Appeal.—Numbers of Grade I men held on appeal in the clothing and woollen manufacturing industries as at varying dates throughout the period of the war were as follows :

250. As with other industries, the figures for 1943 and 1944 comprise all Grade I men aged twenty to forty inclusive and Air Force and naval volunteers, while the figures for 1945 relate only to Category " A " men. (viii) Hospitals (Public, Private, and Mental and Sanatoria) 251. During the period of the war the staffing of hospitals and sanatoria was a constant source of difficulty to the Department, particularly in the larger public and mental hospitals. Hospitals have held a first priority in man-power throughout, and the utmost endeavours have continuously been made to ensure that all such institutions were adequately staffed. 252. Employments which are a charge on public moneys are slower than other employments in adjusting themselves to changed general conditions. This is due partly to the necessarily slower and more cautious tempo of public administration and partly to the reluctance of public bodies to commit themselves to new expenditure or new precedents until the case for such action (or the pressure for it) has become exceptionally strong. The changed conditions arising out of the war required, for example, a changed attitude towards hospital domestic workers in alignment with the new type of young woman who would have to be drawn into such work —women from shops, offices, and factories whose expectations regarding amenities, independence, and general treatment would have to be met. It required also a changed technique in campaigning for recruits as well as in selection, training, and supervision. Apart altogether from the question of whether or not wage-rates Were at a sufficiently competitive level, these other matters required attention and outlay. Hospital Boards, particularly, have been slow to adapt themselves to changed general conditions, and consequently, as the over-all shortage of female labour reached an acute stage, many hospitals found themselves being out-stripped by other industry in the race for available labour, and consequently being left in a staffing position more acute than the average. At the same time hospitals had had additional burdens thrown on them, partly from the more progressive hospital benefits made available under the Social Security Act of 1938, and partly from the expansion of hospital facilities to cope with war casualties. 253. Nursing staffs were depleted to some extent by the contribution of nurses to the Forces, but the greatest need was for wardsmaids and kitchen and laundry staffs.

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— 31st March, 1943. 1 j 31st March, 1944. 28th Feb., 1945. 15th Aug., 1945. Woollen and knitted goods manu293 209 116 98 facture Silk-hosiery manufacture 17 19 6 7 Hats and millinery 13 10 4 3 Clothing-manufacture n.e.i. 145 128 71 55 Totals 468 366 197 163

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254. Shortly before the outbreak of war the Red Cross Society and the Order of St. John had undertaken the training of female volunteers in order to equip them to assist in public hospitals in emergencies. These volunteers were known as Voluntary Aids. During the war period recruitment of Voluntary Aids was stepped up until the peak strength of the organization exceeded 10,000. Aids were required to undertake one month's hospital work each year in centres where staff shortages were acute, and this helped materially to alleviate staffing difficulties and enabled full-time staff to have their much-needed annual holiday break. As an additional measure the Civil Nursing Reserve was established by the Department of Health, consisting of registered nurses and Voluntary Aids. The Reserve formed a full-time mobile group under the control of the Director of Nursing, and members were assigned by her to the various public hospitals as and when their services were required. 255. District Man-power Officers played a considerable part in the Voluntary Aid and Civil Nursing Reserve schemes. Where necessary, directions were used to ensure that Aids were released by their employers for the one month's hospital duty each year. The strength of the Civil Nursing Reserve was also built up by the direction of Aids to the Reserve for full-time hospital work where circumstances permitted. 256. In addition to these measures, it was necessary to pursue an active direction policy in order to provide wardsmaids, kitchen, and laundry staff. In the Wellington, Auckland, and Hawke's Bay districts it was eventually found necessary to place all single girls of twenty-one and twenty-two years of age under a universal obligation to perform twelve months' hospital service as required. In Auckland the necessity for this step was due largely to the opening-up of the 39th General Hospital in January, 1945, requiring a total staff of 574, followed some months later by the opening of the Middlemore Hospital, requiring a staff of 289. Similarly, the position in Wellington was largely due to the opening, in August, 1945, of the Silverstream Hospital and extensions to the main hospitals at Wellington and Lower Hutt. As at 31st March, 1946, recorded male vacancies in public hospitals were negligible, but female vacancies were as follows : Nurses 173 (including 59 at Auckland and 57 at Wellington). Others 682 (including 98 at Auckland, 209 at Wellington, 112 at Christchurch, and 44 at Dunedin). 257. In Wellington, where the position, once controls were abolished, was particularly acute, the Hospital Board sought the assistance of the Department. With this assistance certain changes in staff organization, together with an intensive campaign for staff, were in progress at the end of March, and as a result it appears probable that the vacancies will be largely met in the near future. 258. The task of the Department, in meeting the staffing requirements of mental hospitals was even more difficult, although smaller numbers were involved. Here again the greatest difficulty was experienced in providing female, rather than male labour. 259. When efforts to recruit female nurses for mental hospitals did not succeed in obtaining the required numbers, compulsory direction of suitable types had to be resorted to. Public prejudice against the compulsory direction of girls to employment in mental hospitals was strong, largely owing to a misconception of the duties of mental nurses and the atmosphere of-mental institutions. This prejudice was substantially overcome in some districts following an intensive publicity campaign involving the use of newspapers, radio, printed matter, and church appeals. A campaign launched in Invercargill in February, 1945, resulted in 21 girls going forward to the Seacliff Mental Hospital in the first few weeks, appeals being lodged in only 4of these cases. A campaign organized by the Department in Wellington in June, 1945, achieved notable success. Some hundreds of girls were interviewed by officers of the Department, and in the course of a few weeks 49 girls had voluntarily taken up employment at the Porirua Mental Hospital and 9 other volunteers expressing a preference for appointment to

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institutions in other districts had been allocated accordingly. In addition, a reserve pool of 23 volunteers was created from which to fill subsequent vacancies. It is worthy of mention that an address by officers of this Department and the Mental Hospitals Department to approximately 100 girls, whose employment on the manufacture of munitions at Lower Hutt was terminating, yielded 21 volunteers. 260. As at 31st March, 1946, vacancies in mental hospitals, as shown by the Mental Hospitals Department, were fairly well distributed between the various institutions throughout the Dominion, and totalled 72 for males and 215 for females. 261. As at 31st March, 1945, approximately 2,800 women were held under direction, in general and mental hospital employment, comprising mainly wardsmaids, kitchen and laundry staff, and mental nurses. (ix) Seasonal Industries 262. Seasonal industries (including freezing-works, dairy factories, wool-stores,, food-processing factories, haymaking, harvesting, shearing, and fruit-picking), being so closely related to primary production, hold a position of great importance in the Dominion's economy. During the war years they acquired added importance owing to the dependence of Great Britain and Allied Forces in the Pacific area on foodstuffs from this country. Fluctuations in the level of employment in these industries are very marked, and it is estimated that they require up to 30,000 workers in the summer and early autumn, the actual number required varying with the nature of the season. Prior to the war the labour needs of these seasonal industries were largely met by persons who undertook this type of work in season, and relied in the off-season on such employment as could be found. Prior to the war, therefore, seasonal labour requirements were met at the cost of a chronic between-season unemployment peak and through the continuing existence of a large pool of men whose employment prospects even during the season remained unstable and (in the case of unskilled or inexperienced labour) insecure. During the first two years of war great changes occurred in this pool of labour. Large numbers entered the Armed Forces, and with the progressive general shortage of labour many were attracted by vacancies which occurred in other industries and were loath to leave such more permanent employment when seasonal labour was in demand. 263. New means of providing seasonal labour had to be devised. The chief measures taken were as follows : (a) The temporary release of men from military camps. (b) The withholding of experienced men from military service on appeal subject to their continued availability for seasonal work. - (c) The Army and Air Force harvesting scheme in the 1943-44 and 1944-45 seasons (see subsection (ii) above relating to farming). (d) The direction of labour from other industries during the season. (e) The direction of male University and training-college students and school-teachers during the long vacation in the 1942-43, 1943-44, and 1944-45 seasons, and of female University and trainingcollege students and school teachers in the 1943-44 and 1944-45 seasons. (/) The use of schoolboys, schoolgirls, and other voluntary workers for such work as vegetable growing, fruit and hop picking, &c. (g) The use of part-time workers in food-processing factories. 264. These measures carried the seasonal industries safely through the war period. The general shortage of labour made the finding of winter employment for seasonal workers relatively easy, and between-season unemployment virtually disappeared. The two main seasonal industries other than harvesting are dealt with in greater detail hereunder: — 265. Butter and Cheese Manufacture.—Although this industry is carried on in all districts, the chief centres of activity are Taranaki, Waikato, Manawatu, and Southland.

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266. The Department's task of providing the full complement of labour for dairy factories during the war years was rendered difficult by the following factors : (a) The heavy and unattractive nature of the work. (b) The remote location of many factories. (c) A lack of accommodation and amenities for married men, and, in some cases, for single men. 267. The number of men engaged in the industry in the off-season —i.e., the winter months —is in the vicinity of 2,800, while in the flush of the season, during the summer months, a labour force of over 4,200 is required. 268. Prior to the commencement of the 1941-42 season it was realized that some difficulty would be experienced in building up the labour force to the peak figure. At that time man-power controls had not been introduced, and Great Britain was asking for "increased cheese-production, necessitating a diversion of a portion of the industry from butter to cheese making. In order to prepare for the expected labour shortage the Cheese Industry (Registration of Employment) Order 1941 was gazetted in June, 1941. This Order required the registration of cheese-factories and workers engaged in or having had previous experience in cheese-factories. The registration of workers enabled Placement Officers to set up registers of experienced cheese-factory hands. By 30th September, 1941, 1,143 persons who had had previous cheese-factory experience but were not then employed in the industry had registered. Of this number, all except 272 indicated their willingness to return to the industry. This fine response and the efforts of Placement Officers to make up labour deficiencies with voluntary unskilled labour, carried the industry safely through the 1941-42 season, and an increase in cheese-production of 29-7 per cent, was achieved. 269. In the 1942-43 season, by which time man-power controls were in force, Great Britain's requirements necessitated reversion to butter-production. An examination of the position inducated that a labour shortage was likely, particularly in the Taranaki district. The registers of cheese-factory workers taken over by District Man-power Officers from Placement Officers proved helpful and enabled District Man-power Officers to ensure, by means of direction where necessary, that experienced cheese-factory workers returned to the industry for the season. The approval of War Cabinet was obtained for the withdrawal from the Forces of sufficient men volunteering for dairyfactory employment to meet deficiencies where labour could not be obtained from other sources. Under this scheme District Man-power Officers and Armed Forces Appeal Boards made recommendations for the release of 479 men from Ist June, 1942, to 22nd March, 1943. During the course of the season a National Man-power Utilization Council was set up to assist the Department in examining the man-power problems confronting the industry and in devising ways and means of overcoming them. By this time, also, considerable numbers of experienced men in the industry were being withheld from military service on appeal. In cases where employers having a sufficiency of labour did not lodge appeals, this action was taken by the Department and the men were then directed to other factories where shortages existed. As at 31st March, 1943, 921 Grade I men were held on appeal. 270. The requirements of the 1943-44 season were met by means similar to those adopted in the previous season. During the period Ist April, 1943, to 31st March, 1944, District Man-power Officers and Armed Forces Appeal Boards effected the release of 439 men from the Forces for employment in dairy factories, and as at 31st March, 1944, 891 Grade I men were held on appeal. A proportion of university and training-college students and school-teachers was directed to employment in dairy factories during the long vacation, the number placed from December, 1943, to March, 1944, being 97. 271. Before the commencement of the 1944-45 season the decision was made to return the Third (Pacific) Division to New Zealand and to place volunteers for essential work in specified industries, including the butter and cheese manufacturing industries. By 30th November, 1944, 473 men from the Third Division were employed

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in dairy factories. In addition, the industry was assisted, as in previous seasons, by the direction of civilian labour, including some students and teachers during the long vacation, and by the release and direction of a number of Air Force personnel. The total number released from the Forces for employment in the industry during the twelve months ended 31st March, 1945, including Third Division personnel, was 581. 272. The special comb-out of Category " A " men held in industry on appeal , which was undertaken at the close of 1944 as part of the plan for the replacement of long-service personnel serving overseas, affected dairy factories in common with other industries. In the period from December, 1944, to June, 1945, 398 such men were made available to the Forces by Armed Forces Appeal Boards. As at 15th August, 1945, 569 Category " A " men were still held in the industry on appeal. 273. The labour situation in the 1945-46 season was eased by the large-scqje demobilization following the defeat of Japan, but, to ensure that the industry wasadequately staffed, priority was accorded by District Man-power Officers to applications for release of men willing to undertake employment in dairy factories, and the declaration of essentiality covering the industry was retained until the end of March, 1946. 274. A survey of dairy factories carried out by the Department in October, 1945 T showed that the number of units in the industry fell from 406 in 1939 to 389 in 1945 r but there was a small increase in the total labour force. The pre-war content of the industry was 4,085 at the peak of the season and 2,613 in the off-season. In 1945, with returns from three units outstanding, the peak labour force was 4,209, with an off-season force of 2,772. 275. Meat Freezing and Preserving.—This industry in recent years has engaged a peak labour force in the vicinity of 14,000 during the summer months, tapering off after March to a minimum of approximately 6,500 in the late winter and early spring months. Activity is carried on in practically all parts of the Dominion, the largest numbers being employed in the Auckland, Napier-Hastings, and Christchurch districts. The industry is of the greatest importance to the Dominion's economy, and during the war years Great Britain was more than ever dependent on supplies of frozen meat from New Zealand. It follows naturally that the industry was accorded the highest priority in the matter of labour during the period of the war. The staffing position in the various works was constantly under review, and surveys of labour required and labour available were taken prior to the commencement of operations each season and at regular intervals during the season. These measures enabled the Department to take whatever steps were necessary to ensure that the works were adequately manned. The task was complicated, however, due to the impossibility of accurately forecasting the progress and duration of seasons which vary according to weather conditions. 276. As early as 1940 the enlistment of men experienced in the industry was causing employers some concern, and Appeal Tribunals were postponing the military service of experienced men who could not be replaced. Freezing-works were included in the first group of industries afforded the protection of a declaration of essentiality in January, 1942, when man-power controls were introduced. 277. In August, 1942, a National Man-power Utilization Council for the industry was formed, and this was followed by the appointment of regional Man-power Utilization Committees in the four main centres, and later at Gisborne. 278. Prior to the commencement of the 1942-43 season most works were applying for the release of former employees who had entered the Forces. By November, 1942, a survey of the position in all works indicated that there would be an overall deficiency of approximately 3,000 men at the peak of the season. The Department met the position by the temporary direction to the industry of Grade I and Grade II men awaiting mobilization and by arranging for the release of freezing-workers from the Army. During the period Ist June, 1942, to 22nd March, 1943, recommendations for release

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from the Forces to freezing-works totalled 2,340, or 11-5 per cent, of all recommendations during that period. Practically all these recommendations were made between November, 1942, and March, 1943. As at 31st March, 1943, 2,181 Grade I men were held in the industry on appeal. 279. At the conclusion of the 1942-43 season consideration was given to the question of Grade I men held in the industry on appeal, and it was decided to review each case with a view to obtaining a maximum release of men to the Forces. Utilization: Committees were particularly helpful in carrying out this review and making recommendations to Armed Forces Appeal Boards, having regard in each case to the experience of the worker, his age, conjugal status, and number of dependants. 280. Prior to the commencement of the 1943-44 season, District Man-power Officers compiled registers of men who had been employed in freezing-works, including inexperienced men who had been diverted to the industry in the 1942-43 season. The registers were maintained in succeeding years, and the policy was adopted of directing these men, where available, to return to the works in subsequent seasons. 281. In November, 1943, it was apparent that, after the direction back to the works of available men who had been employed in the industry during the previous season, there would again be a deficiency of approximately 3,000, and this was met by the adoption of the following measures : (a) The utilization (as civilians) for one month of a proportion of the men selected for one month's service with the Territorial Force under the Army harvesting scheme. (b) The "direction of university and training college students and school teachers during the long vacation. Between December, 1943, and March, 1944, 388 students and teachers were placed in freezing-works. (c) The direction from other industries of Grade I men awaiting mobilization. (d) The temporary release from the Army of members of the 11th reinforcements volunteering for employment in freezing-works. 282. The total number released from the Forces for employment in the industry during the twelve months ended 31st March 1944, was 1,422, or 7-2 per cent, of all man-power releases. The number of Grade I men held in works on appeal as at 31st March, 1944, was 1,441. 283. In anticipation of the needs of the 1944-45 season, freezing-works were included in the list of approved industries for which members of the Third (Pacific) Division were invited to volunteer prior to their return to the Dominion. By 30th November, 1944, 478 such volunteers were employed in the industry, and by the end of February, 1495, this number had increased to 766. School-teachers and University and training-college students were again directed to essential work during the long vacation, and 249 of these were placed in freezing-works. As the pool of labour available from the Forces became exhausted, District Man-power Officers met remaining deficiencies by an active policy of direction of workers from less essential industries. 284. During the twelve months ended 31st March, 1945, releases from the Forces to the industry, including Third Division personnel, totalled 1,407, or s*B per cent, of all man-power releases. As at 28th February, 1945, the number of Category "A " men held in freezing-works on appeal was 1,567, having been inflated by the direction to the industry of Third Division personnel. (It should be noted that figures in respect of Grade I men held on appeal up to 1944 inclusive relate to men aged twenty to forty years inclusive, and all Air Force and naval volunteers. Figures in respect of 1945 relate to Grade I men aged twenty-one to thirty-five years inclusive with fewer than three children aiid who had had less than three years' overseas service, together with all Air Force and naval volunteers.) 285. Early in 1945 a further special review of Category £; A " men held in the industry on appeal was undertaken, the aim being to release men to the Forces as the season tapered off and to make available to the Armed Services men held on appeal

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in excess of 7 per cent, of the peak labour force in each works. As a result of this review the number of Category " A " men held on appeal was reduced from 1,567 as at 28th February, 1945, to 1,061 as at 15th August, 1945. 286. Following the defeat of Japan, consideration was given to the question of revoking the declaration of essentiality covering freezing-works. Although it was apparent that the male labour situation would improve as the demobilization of the Forces progressed, the staffing of the industry could not be left to chance, and it was decided, therefore, to retain the declaration for the 1945-46 season. However, in accordance with the Government's desire to avoid the use of compulsory measures wherever possible, every effort was made by District Man-power Officers to staff works on a voluntary basis, and the powers of direction were resorted to only where works could not otherwise be fully manned. Extensive publicity and a radio appeal to workers to undertake employment in the freezing-works went a long way towards achieving the objective of meeting the requirements of the industry without recourse to compulsory direction. (x) Engineering, Ship Building and Repair 287. Prior to the outbreak of war the engineering industry was expanding its activities in the manufacturing field. As a consequence there was some staff shortage even then, particularly in respect of skilled tradesmen. To meet that shortage several hundred tradesmen had been recruited from Australia, and the Labour Department had sponsored a scheme for the training of auxiliary tradesmen in fitting and turning, and welding. With the outbreak of war the auxiliary training scheme was extended, and by the time it was merged with the trade-training schools of the Rehabilitation Department in February, 1944, 478 auxiliary workers had been trained, 134 of whom were welders. 288. In 1939 there were 1,331 units in the industry (taking its broadest ramifications, but excluding the Railways and other Government Departments and local bodies). These units were them employing some 16,500 males and 2,000 females, making a total labour force of 18,500. There were some 12,000 employees in general engineering (including agricultural and dairy machinery) and some 6,500 employees, in electrical engineering, radio-manufacture, ship building and repair, motor assembly, coach-building, aircraft engineering, engraving, and stamp-die making. By October, 1945, the number of units had increased to 1,443 and a survey covering 1,234 of these units showed that they were then employing 17,634 males and 2,912 females. 289. During the war years the industry was called upon for a tremendous war effort, which included the manufacture of wireless sets, Sten guns, Bren-gun carriers, bombs, grenades, fuses, aeroplane-fuel tanks, water-bottles, steel helmets, wire nails, barbed wire, ammunition, batteries, agricultural machinery and implements, the manufacture and maintenance of machinery used in essential production and services, the repair of vehicles and equipment from the Pacific War Zone, the building and repair of aircraft, repair of ships, the fitting of defensive armament and protective equipment to ships, and the building of minesweepers, Fairmile patrol boats, tow-boats, steel tugs, powered lighters, and barges of various types. In addition, it continued to meet civilian requirements of high priority. 290. Consequently the industry was always accorded the high priority which the importance of its contribution to the war effort demanded. It was also necessary, however, to establish priorities within the industry, ship building and repair and the manufacture of munitions being accorded absolute priority over all other branches of the industry. 291. The change-over to war production commenced soon after the outbreak of war, and skilled tradesmen were being withheld from military service as early as 1940. In determining and meeting the labour requirements of the industry, and of individual units,

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the Department worked in close co-operation with the Munitions Controller, Ship Building Controller, Factory Controller, the Ship Building and Repairs Committee, and the three arms of the Services. The Department also received valuable assistance from the National Man-power Utilization Council for the industry which was established at the beginning of 1942 and from the numerous local Utilization Committees which were set up a few months later. 292. Units of the industry engaged on munitions and other work of similar priority were included in the first group of undertakings declared essential in January, 1942, and the coverage was extended steadily as less-essential production disappeared, until practically the entire industry was covered. 293. In March, 1942, the Metal Trades' Workers' Registration Order 1942 was gazetted, requiring males from eighteen to seventy years inclusive employed or having had experience in various occupations in the engineering industry to register with District Man-power Officers, and by the end of April, 1942, 20,109 such workers had registered. An examination of the registrations showed that 2,788 registrants were not employed at their trades, although of these, 876 were over sixty-one years of age. At the same time a survey of 321 engineering concerns engaged on munitions and allied work and employing 8,467 workers revealed 975 vacancies, including 665 for skilled workers and 169 for semiskilled workers. The registration of tradesmen enabled the Department to direct back to the industry skilled tradesmen who had previously left it and to transfer workers within the industry, by means of direction, from the less-essential to the more-essential classes of work. Despite these measures, the demand for skilled labour continued to exceed the supply, and by the middle of June, 1942, the Department was facilitating the release to the industry of tradesmen who had previously entered the Forces. 294. By July, 1942, Auckland shipyards were called upon to build Fairmile patrol boats, in addition to the minesweeper-building programme which had been in progress for some time. To enable the yards to undertake this additional work 100 tradesmen skilled in the art of boat-building were required. The Department combed all districts throughout the Dominion to find this labour, and suitable tradesmen were directed to Auckland as they were located. The Railways Department, the largest single employer of engineering tradesmen in the Dominion, from time to time up to this period, and, in fact, right throughout the war years, greatly assisted private enterprise by the loan periodically of considerable numbers of tradesmen for highly essential work. 295. By 1943 the industry generally, geared for the maximum effort, was working long hours, and at this stage unskilled as well as skilled and semi-skilled men were being withheld from military service. Where appeals were not lodged by employers that action was taken by the Department, and in appropriate cases the workers were transferred to more essential work, involving, in some cases, transfer to other districts. At 31st March, 1943, 2,915 Grade I men, other than employees of railways and tramways workshops, were held on appeal. In the period Ist June, 1942, to 22nd March, 1943, Armed Forces Appeal Boards made recommendations for the release from the Forces of 552 engineering and metal trade workers. 296. In February, 1943, the expansion of munitions production in the Wellington and Lower Hutt districts necessitated the provision of 345 additional female workers. As the shortage of female labour in all essential industries in this area was acute it was necessary for District Man-power Officers in other centres in both the North and South Islands to provide the labour by directing women from their districts. These women were accommodated in hostels built by the Housing Construction Department and managed on behalf of the National Service Department by the Y.W.C.A. 297. In the year ended 31st March, 1944, the industry continued to work at great pressure, the main emphasis again being placed on ship building and repair and munitionsproduction. During the period Ist April, 1943, to 31st March, 1944, man-power releases from the Forces to the industry totalled 1,245, and as a result at 31st March, 1944, 3,157 Grade I men (exclusive of railways and tramways workshops staffs) were held on

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appeal. During the period Ist October, 1943, to 31st March, 1944, directions issued by District Man-power Officers to engineering and allied industry totalled 1,699 males and 393 females. 298. In December, 1944, however, although the industry could ill afford the loss of skilled tradesmen, it was required, in common with other industries, to make its contribution to the reinforcements for the Middle East Division to enable the scheme for the replacement of long-service personnel to be carried through. Appeals in respect of men held in the industry were accordingly reviewed, and the number of Category " A " personnel retained on appeal was reduced to 1,786 as at 28th February, 1945, and further reduced to 1,290 by 15th August, 1945, these figures again being exclusive of railways and tramways workshops staffs. (In comparing figures relating to men held on appeal as at varying dates it should be borne in mind that figures quoted to 31st March, 1944, inclusive, comprise Grade I men aged twenty to forty years inclusive and all Air Force and naval volunteers, while figures for 1945 relate to Grade I men aged twenty-one to thirty-five years inclusive with fewer than three children and who had had less than three years' overseas service, together with all Air Force and naval volunteers.) 299. A call from Great Britain for an urgent step-up of production of certain classes of munitions in December, 1944, necessitated the provision of 100 additional female workers in the Lower Hutt district, and again this demand was met by the direction of women from other centres. 300. Man-power releases from the Forces to the industry during the twelve months ended 31st March, 1945, totalled 1,246, and directions issued by District Man-power Officers in the same period to the industry numbered 4,841 males and 1,077 females. 301. Immediately following the defeat of Germany in May, 1945, the munitions programme was curtailed and the female labour force was correspondingly reduced in units affected. The capitulation of Japan in August, 1945, brought the production of munitions to a halt, since when the industry has concentrated on changing back to peacetime activities and overtaking arrears of normal work which was laid aside during the war years. 302. Notified vacancies in the engineering and metal trades as at 31st March, 1946, were for 817 males and 91 females. (xi) Other Essential Industries and Services 303. Under this heading are included— Bakeries and butcheries. Laundries. Biscuit-making. Linen-flax industry. Building-materials manufacture. Local authorities. Education. Motor trades. Eellmongering, woolscouring, and tanning. Plumbing trades. Miscellaneous food processing and canning. Printing and publishing. Footwear-manufacture. Stock and station agencies. Furniture-making. Tobacco-processing. Gas and electricity production and supply. Other food and drink industries. Hotels and restaurants. Miscellaneous industries and services. 304. All of these industries and services experienced staffing difficulties during the war period due to the general labour shortage occasioned by the intake of men and women to the Forces. They were all affected to a greater or lesser degree by the priorities accorded to the other industries previously dealt with and the diversion of labour to those industries, and some were called upon for increased production or efforts due to the needs of the war. 305. Protection was afforded by the granting of declarations of essentiality covering these industries and services, either wholly or in part, and the Department assisted to the utmost extent consistent with the priorities and demands of other industries, by the direction of workers, man-power releases from the Forces, and the retention of men from military service by Armed Forces Appeal Boards.

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306. Man-power Utilization Councils were set up for the following industries in the group under review : Baking trades. Motor trades. Biscuit-manufacture. Optical trades. Coal-gas manufacture. Plumbing trades. Electrical trades. Printing and publishing. Food canning and preserving. Tanneries. Footwear-manufacture. Tobacco-manufacture. Furniture-manufacture. Laundries. 307. Local Utilization Committees were also established for these industries, with the exception of biscuit-manufacture, food canning and preserving, optical trades, and tanneries. Although no Utilization Council was set up, Utilization Committees were appointed, in the four main centres, for the coal-distribution industry. (xii) Other Industries and Services not declared Essential 308. Included under this heading are — Beverage industries. Land, estate, and other agencies. Confectionery-manufacture. Leather-goods manufacture (certain, classes). Finance. Recreation, amusement, and sport. Fur dressing and manufacture. Wholesale and retail trades. Insurance. Miscellaneous industries and services. 309. These industries and services all play their part in the economy of the Dominion and in the life of our people, and have varying degrees of importance. It was not necessary, however, to grant them the protection of a declaration of essentiality, as in practically all cases the production or service could be curtailed if necessary without impeding the war effort. It was the aim of the Department throughout, in the administration of manpower controls in these industries and services to permit them, as far as possible, to maintain sufficient staff to continue to function economically and thus be in a position, after the war, to rehabilitate employees who had entered the Forces. ~ The Department assisted these industries and services from time to time by arranging the release of home servicemen and home servicewomen from the Forces where such action was deemed to be warranted. Armed Forces Appeal Boards in dealing with appeals, also permitted the retention from military services of limited numbers of Category " A " men holding key positions and a more substantial proportion of non-Category "A " men. The engagement of part-time labour, married women, and elderly persons was a prominent feature of the employment situation in these industries and services during the war period. SECTION lII.—RELAXATION OF CONTROLS (i) Broad Programme of Relaxations 310. At the turn of the tide of war when the defeat of Germany was no longer a matter for any doubt, preliminary consideration was given to the effects that cessation of hostilities in the European sphere would have on the Dominion's man-power position. Attention was focused on the possibility of relaxing man-power control measures, though not to an extent which would impair the effort still required for the Pacific theatre of war, for successful rehabilitation and reconstruction programmes, and for the part to be played by the Dominion in meeting the world food crisis already looming on the horizon. 311. Upon the surrender of Germany on Bth May, 1945, the Government announced its intention of abolishing man-power control measures as soon as possible. The Department quickly finalized surveys already in hand for the purpose of deciding on what lines and with what speed relaxation of man-power controls should proceed. In regard to the removal of controls generally, it was necessary to bear in mind the need for continuing to meet the requirements of men overseas—particularly for food —the necessity to push ahead with housing and other work necessary for rehabilitation and the transition from war to peace ; and the need to maintain an operative minimum of labour in key industries and services through the transition

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period. It was apparent that no wholesale removal of controls could take place immediately, but that relaxation must be a gradual process to smooth over the change from wartime to peacetime activities as much as possible. 312. It was therefore decided that the earliest practicable relaxations would take the form of the revocation of a number of declarations of essentiality covering industries whose priorities were directly and immediately, affected by the cessation of hostilities. This could be followed by a limited exemption of certain classes from further man-power direction and their release from other current man-power obligations. A close watch would be maintained on the effects of these relaxations, and further progressive exemptions and revocations could proceed as circumstances permitted. A provisional schedule for these progressive relaxations was drawn up, and in the main it proved possible to adhere to this. (ii) Revocation of Declarations of Essentiality 313. In the light of its quickly finalized survey of the position in different industries the Department was able to draw up a programme for the review of declarations of essentiality by certain large groups, commencing with munitions and other work whose priority must cease with the end of hostilities, but leaving over the following groups which, it was evident, would require protection for a longer period than other industries : —; (a) Production for purposes of meeting the essential requirements of returned servicemen. (b) Production necessary to maintain supplies to Britain and Europe and to the Armed Forces, or to meet Government commitments to UNRRA and the Netherlands East Indies, &c. (c) Production or services which had serious arrears to be overtaken in order to ensure maximum safety or well-being—e.g., removal of electrical fire hazards, removal of dangers to public health from •defective plumbing or drainage, the provision of housing, &c. (d) Production or services of a key nature which would fail unless labour continued to be safeguarded—e.g., coal-production, gasworks, transport, accommodation and meal facilities, and the maintenance of hospitals and mental hospitals, &c. (e) Production or services in which special difficulties in the reabsorption of demobilized servicemen were anticipated if wartime staff were dispersed and replaced by permanent staff from civilian sources before demobilization occurred. 314. In regard to declarations not contained within the above classes those which appeared prima facie to have the least claim for retention were selected with the view to immediate revocation. An opportunity was first given to the employers concerned to express their opinions on the need for the continuation of coverage, while at the same time appropriate associations of employers, unions of workers, Man-power Utilization Committees, and Controllers were also consulted. Before finally arriving at a decision to revoke any particular declaration the views of these interested parties were fully weighed. Some cases arose where postponement of revocation beyond the date originally scheduled was necessary, but in the main that schedule was maintained. 315. Opposition to the removal of declarations was encountered from some groups of employers and from various individual employers. This was due partly to a fear that labour would leave them as soon as it was free to do so and that they would be unable to replace it, and partly to two misconceptions in the early stages of revocations. These misconceptions were — (a) Fears were expressed by some employers that as soon as they lost the protection of essentiality, District Man-power Officers would proceed to direct their staff to undertakings still remaining essential. These fears were dispelled, however, by a policy statement by Government assuring employers that no discrimination would be made against those firms which lost their cover of essentiality, and that while their staffs were still liable to periodic review as in the past, the Department had no intention of arbitrarily directing staff away from them merely because their declarations had been revoked. The fairly steep tapering-off of the use of directions (discussed below) which accompanied the removal of declarations actually meant that very few directions continued to be issued. (b) Employers in many cases also were apprehensive that removal of declarations would adversely affect theh priority in the obtaining of materials and supplies. It was necessary to explain to these firms that the declaration of essentiality was related only to the man-power angle and had no connection whatsoever with the allocation of essential materials.

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316. The first list of revocations appeared in the New Zealand Gazette of 30tli June, 1945, and contained the names of 184 undertakings. By YJ Day (15th August, 1945) undertakings employing approximately 10,000 workers had been freed from control by revocation of declarations of essentiality. 317. Upon the cessation of hostilities with Japan the process of cancelling declarations of essentiality accelerated, particularly in respect of those industries affected by the ending of war contracts, those likely to receive the early benefit of men returning from the Services, and those in which the man-power position had otherwise become easier. By consultations with employers' associations, unions, Man-power Utilization Committees and Councils, and Controllers, the Department maintained its finger on the pulse of industry and was thereby able to continue the process of revocation at a maximum pace without proceeding so fast as to cause undue embarrassment to industry. 318. The following schedule shows the progressive steps by which the major revocations were effected between YJ Day and 31st March, 1946 : 30th August, 1945 The Public Service. 21st September, 1945 Airways. New Zealand University and affiliated colleges. Aircraft-manufacture. Pastrycook establishments. Boot and shoe repairing. Perambulator and wickerwork. Cardboard cartons and containers. Refrigeration engineering. Cycle making and repairing. Reserve Bank. Education Board Staff. Retail-butchers' shops. Engineering. Servicing of radio sets. Glass cutting and bevelling. Ship building and repairing. Motor garages. Shipping companies' shore staffs. Motor-body builders. Miscellaneous. The total number of workers affected up to 21st September, 1945, was 64,800. 15th November, 1945 — Biscuit-factories. Rabbit Boards. Canning and preserving. Road transport. Iron and steel stores. Saddlery trade. Metal-quarries. Scale-manufacture. Oil companies. Soapworks. The total number of workers affected to 15th November, 1945, was 89,600. 6th December, 1945—Abattoirs. Paper-mills. Boiling down and manures. Retail distribution of coal. Butter and cheese cool-stores. Retail distribution of milk. Fellmongery. Skins and hides. Flaxmills (phormium). Teaching. Hospital Boards (12). Wooden-box making. Limeworks. * Woolscouring. The total number of workers affected up to 6th December, 1945, was 109,000. 31st December, 1945 Post and Telegraph Department (Second Division). 31st January, 1946 Brick and tile works. Hydro-electric construction. Building. Laundries. Cement-works. Plumbing trade. Concrete products. Public-works undertakings. Dehydration plants. Railways (Second Division). Electric-power production and supply. Rubber manufacture and retreading. Electrical trade. Sack manufacture and reconditioning. Fertilizer-works. Serpentine-rock quarrying. Flourmills. Sugar-refining. Fire Boards. Tanneries. Footwear-manufacture. Timber-yards and joinery-factories. Furniture-manufacture. Tobacco-manufacture. Gas-manufacture. Watsr-supply, sanitation, and drainage. Harbour Boards. Woollen-mills. Hotels and restaurants. Miscellaneous. Hosiery and knitting mills. The total number of workers affected to the end of January, 1946, was 207,500.

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319. The revocations on 31st January, 1945, removed the cover of essentiality from all industries except hospitals, tramways, dairy factories, freezing-works, sawmilling, and coal-mining. The declarations in respect of the three former industries were revoked on the dates shown hereunder : ■ 28th February, 1946 : Hospitals (public and private). 9th March, 1946 : Tramways. 30th March, 1946 : Dairy factories. 320. By 31st March, 1946, declarations of essentiality had been cancelled directly affecting workers numbering 228,300 out of a total of 255,000 originally covered, and the only declarations still operating were those relating to the industries of meatfreezing, sawmilling (and forestry), and coal-mining, employing a total of 26,700 workers. The following comments give a brief indication of the problems still faced at 31st March, 1946, which precluded the revocation of the declarations by that date:— {a) Freezing Industry.—At a meeting of the Man-power Utilization Council for the freezing industry held on 29th November, 1945, the matter of the date of revocation of the declaration covering the freezing industry received very full consideration. The Council unanimously passed a resolution recommending to the Government that the declaration should be retained until the end of June, 1946. It was emphasized that the busy season in the South Island would not conclude until June or later and that the rights of directed workers under the Occupational Re-establishment Emergency Regulations should be safeguarded. (6) Sawmilling and Coal-mining.—ln view of the basic importance of these industries to the Dominion's economy, and the pressing need for increasing the production of timber and coal, it was imperative that the labour complements of the industries be maintained. Considerable numbers of workers were still held in these industries under direction orders, and it is probable that many of these will take the opportunity of transferring to other industries when the cover of essentiality is lifted. 321. A decision has been made to revoke each of these remaining declarations •on 29th June, 1946. Immediately following this the Industrial Man-power Emergency Regulations 1944 will also be withdrawn. (iii) Relaxation of other Man-power Controls 322. As mentioned above, before the war in Europe had ended consideration had already been given to the extent to which man-power controls might be progressively reduced after the cessation of hostilities, and the Department had commenced a close scrutiny of the labour position in all industries and districts. With this information available it was possible under one month of VE Day (Bth May, 1945), and some weeks before the first of the declarations of essentiality had been revoked, to announce relaxations in other man-power control measures which were to take effect on 30th June, 1945. These relaxations affected : (a) The Wives of Returned Servicemen. —From 80th June these were granted automatic release from direction or automatic consent to terminate employment in essential undertakings in all cases where they desired to do so in order to take up home duties! They were in addition exempted from future man-power direction. (b) Married Women Forty Years of Age or over.—These were granted concessions identical with those allowed to the wives of returned servicemen. (c) All Persons under Eighteen Years of Age.—-These were granted automatic consent to terminate employment in essential undertakings in order to take up other employment of their own choice. (d) Widows of Deceased Servicemen.—These had not been subject to control, but to make their position clear they were expressly stated as being free from direction and as receiving automatic consent to terminate, irrespective of their reasons for desiring release from employment. 323. Early in August, 1945, all returned servicemen (other than those-specially released from further service in the Pacific area for placement in certain high-priority industries) were given freedom of choice of employment and were exempted from future direction. 324. The whole question of relaxation of man-power control over the various groups of persons, both male and female, and of the possibility of easing the restrictions on non-essential undertakings, was thus receiving continual attention simultaneously with the reviews of declarations of essentiality. In addition to the exemption of as

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many groups as possible from man-power control measures, the Department was keeping steadily in view of the desire to curtail, and ultimately to avoid altogether, the necessity for compulsory direction. 325. A few days after the surrender of Japan further substantial relaxations over a very wide field were announced. These relaxations included the exemption from further liability for direction of — (а) All married women irrespective of age. These also received automatic consent to leave ■essential industries if they desired to take up home duties. (б) All other women of thirty years of age or over. (c) All men of forty-five years of age or over. 326. In the two latter groups applications for permission to terminate essential •employment still had to be made, and these were dealt with on their merits as previously. It will be observed that by this date (18th August, 1945) the only persons who, in addition to those in the two latter groups, were not receiving automatic consent to terminate were unmarried women aged eighteen to twenty-nine years inclusive and men (except returned servicemen) aged eighteen to forty-four years inclusive. The steady cancellation of declarations of essentiality reduced the number of essential undertakings, and this also progressively reduced the numbers of persons subject to man-power control. 327. At the same time as the above relaxations were announced employers in both essential and non-essential undertakings were freed from the requirement to obtain the consent of the District Man-power Officer prior to engaging persons in the following classes, providing they notified the District Man-power Officer within seven days of the engagement: — (a) Persons under eighteen years of age. (b) Widows of servicemen. (c) Women who were thirty years of age or over. (d) Married women. (e) Returned servicemen of the present war. .(f) Men who were forty-five years of age or over. 328. The only persons in respect of whom employers still had to obtain prior permission to engage were single women aged eighteen to twenty-nine years and men (except returned servicemen) aged eighteen to forty-four years inclusive. An acceleration in the revocation of declarations of essentiality as already outlined in this section was maintained, and all girls attaining the age of eighteen years were exempted from the requirement to register. 329. It is estimated that within six weeks of the surrender of Japan upwards of 200,000 persons had been affected by the above exemptions. That the exemptions had been stretched as far as possible at that point was apparent from minor staffing difficulties which appeared in certain industries as a result. Those difficulties, however, did not reach any serious proportions, and the extent of the relaxation granted was proved to be justifiable. . 330. The pool of labour subject to direction had been reduced until it included at the end of August only single women aged eighteen to twenty-nine years inclusive, and men, other than returned servicemen, aged eighteen to forty-four years inclusive. A careful examination of the position showed that this pool was only just sufficient to meet the more urgent continuing needs of industries which were retaining their declarations of essentiality. 331. For the next two months relaxations took the form of revocation of declarations at a greatly increased rate consistent with the requirements of high priority industry. 332. The operation of the Employment Restriction Order was further curtailed at the end of November, when it became no longer necessary for essential undertakings to obtain the prior consent of the District Man-power Officer to the engagement of new labour provided the engagement was notified to the District Man-power Officer within

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forty-eight hours. The end of January, 1946, marked the revocation of the Order, and henceforth no employer required consent to engage labour or to notify the District Man-power Officer of new engagements. Simultaneously with the cancellation of the Employment Restriction Order the provisions of Regulation No. 30 (3) of the Industrial Man-power Emergency Regulations 1944, requiring employers in non-essential undertakings to notify the District Man-power Officer of the termination of employment of all employees, was permitted to lapse. 333. At the end of January the Department also decided as a matter of policy to curtail the issue of directions almost completely, and thereafter directions were used only to meet acute emergencies in the industries still remaining essential —viz., hospitals, tramways, dairy factories, freezing-works, sawmilling and forestry, and coal-mining. The number of compulsory directions actually effected between Ist February, 1946, and 31st March, 1946, was only 85 males and 10 females. 334. The Employment Registration Orders which require certain persons to register with District Man-power Officers as mentioned at the commencement of this section were made under the authority contained in the Industrial Man-power Emergency Regulations 1944. A complete list of the various Orders appears in Table 21 of the Appendix. Of these, the Opticians Employment Order 1944 was withdrawn on 29th November, 1945, the Dentists Employment Order 1943 on 28th March, 1946, and administratively the Registration for Employment Order No. 8, which required girls attaining eighteen years to register, was suspended in August, 1945. (iv) Controls still operating at 31st March, 1946 335. The Industrial Man-power control measures which were continuing to operate at the 31st March, 1946, had, in comparison with those operating at the beginning of the twelve months under review, been reduced to exceedingly small proportions. In setting forth hereunder a list of these controls brief comments are made on the extent to which each control is still effective : (a) Declarations of essentiality covering three industries—meat-freezing, sawmilling and forestry, and coal-mining, employing a total of 26,700 persons. (b) The necessity for males (except returned servicemen) aged eighteen to forty-four years and females aged eighteen to twenty-nine years employed in the above industries to continue to obtain consent to terminate. (c) The liability of the classes of persons in (b) for direction to the above industries.. In practice the operation of this measure had become negligible by 31st March, 1946, except that Category " A " men withheld on appeal from military service continued to be under man-power direction. (d) The Registration for Employment Orders : These Orders must be included in the controls still operating as they have not been formally withdrawn. Administratively, however, they have become inoperative. A definite date, 29th June, 1946, has been fixed for the complete abolition of all wartime man-power control measures, and on this date the Industrial Man-power Emergency Regulations and-all Orders made under these regulations will be revoked. SECTION IV.—THE MAORI WAR EFFORT 336. The valour of members of the Maori Battalion and Maori members of the Air Force and Navy is widely known. On the industrial front, also, they have contributed much to the achievements of New Zealand's war effort. Maori workers have assisted materially in the manning of seasonal and heavy industries throughout the war period, particularly in the high-priority industries of shearing and meat-freezing. They have been conspicuous also in sawmilling, constructional activities, and defence works. Maori men and women have also played their part in urban industries. When the National Service Department commenced its wartime redistribution of the industrial man-power of the Dominion it sought and readily obtained the co-operation of the Maori War Effort Organization. Special Maori Sections of National Service offices were

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established in the main centres of Maori population, and these sections (working in close contact with the tribal committees and with Maori Utilization Committees) were able to secure the willing services of Maori workers in many critically short-staffed industries throughout New Zealand. Maori workers were made subject to man-power •direction and control to the same extent as others, and it is worthy of note that virtually all directions issued by District Man-power Officers (who acted in close consultation with the tribal committees and Maori Utilization Committees) were accepted without appeal. The total number of Maoris employed in essential undertakings at Ist April, 1945, is estimated to have been 15,000. Some 10,000 direction orders had then been issued to Maoris. SECTION V.—THE WOMEN'S LAND SERVICE 337. In 1940, when it became apparent that steps would have to be taken to supplement the male farm labour force, which had already been considerably reduced through enlistments in the Armed Forces, the Women's Land Service was established, and this Service made a very important industrial contribution to New Zealand's war effort. 338. Recruitment of members for this Service, or the Women's Land Corps as it was first called, was originally undertaken by the Women's War Service Auxiliary. In September, 1942, however, when the strength of the corps was still very small, a complete reorganization of the scheme was undertaken, and the Women's Land Service was developed. 339. The main features of the reorganization were : (a) The basic weekly wages were increased from 355. and 425. 6d. to 41s. and 48s. 6d. (b) The Service uniform and working apparel were liberalized. (c) The engagement of relatives under the scheme was approved for the first time. (d) Recruitment became the direct responsibility of the District Man-power Officers. 340. In this form the Service was made more attractive to women and farmers, and by the end of September, 1943 (one year after the reorganization) the total active strength had increased to 954. As, however, there was still a great demand for Land Oirls a short but very intensive radio and press membership campaign was undertaken in October, 1943, and by the 31st March, 1944, the active strength of the Service had reached the very satisfactory figure of 1,879, all districts being affected, particularly the Waikato and Taranaki districts in the case of dairy farms, and the Hawkes' Bay, Canterbury, and Otago districts in the case of other farms. 341. Membership of the Service reached its peak in September, 1944, when the number of members employed on farms totalled 2,088. From then on, however, there was a steady decline in the strength, and by 31st March, 1945, the total had been reduced to 1,850 and to 1,228 by 31st March, 1946, at which date arrangements were being made for the disbanding of the Service as from 30th April, 1946. 342. This decline was due partly to the easing of the farm-labour position caused by the return of servicemen from overseas, but in the later stages was accelerated by the marriage of many members to ex-servicemen, and by many girls resigning from membership of the Service to transfer to employment which appeared to have better prospects of permanency. 343. On the 12th June, 1944, the acceptance for membership of the Service of girls working on the farms of near relatives was discontinued, and on the termination of hostilities on 15th August, 1945, all recruitment ceased. 344. Having regard to the substantial increases in the rates of wages for male farm workers, and to the increases in pay to women members of the Armed Forces, granted early in 1945, the rates of wages payable to members of the Women's Land Service were increased by 10s. a week as from Ist June, 1945.

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345. From September, 1942, when it was reorganized, a total of 2,711 girls were at some time employed as members of the Service, and a total of 2,963 farmers at some time employed members of the Service. 346. After the reorganization of the Service in September, 1942, the Women's War Service Auxiliary continued to co-operate with the Department in maintaining contact with Service members through its District Committees and attending to any welfare aspects which arose. In addition to attending very successfully to many other welfare aspects, the Auxiliary was instrumental in the formation of Land Grirls' Clubs in several districts. Tables 18 and 19 of the Appendix give detailed information relating to the Women's Land Service. SECTION VI.—GENERAL ACTIVITIES (i) Employment Promotion 347. The use of employment-promotion schemes has been reduced as a result of the general high level of employment and vacancies throughout industry. Only one scheme (Scheme 13) has continued in operation over the twelve months. This scheme has been used mainly to retain in useful work a small number of men who, for various reasons, such as failing health, are not able to obtain ordinary employment where the employer would have to pay full wages. Of the 372 men employed under the scheme at the 31st March, 1946, 94 per cent, were fit for only light work, and the balance were men who could not be placed in local employment, and who could not reasonably be expected to accept employment in other districts owing to domestic circumstances. The payment of a subsidy on wages enables such men to remain at work and so avoids the socially and economically undesirable action of making them a total charge on the State. Apart from such cases the scheme has been used only to meet a few exceptional cases of unavoidable short-term unemployment. Workers placed on Scheme 13 are registered for employment, and efforts to place them in ordinary employment are continued. From time to time suitable openings occur, and all such opportunities are seized upon for placing the men back in normal employment of a kind within their capacity. While they remain on Scheme 13 their wages are subsidized to bring their total earnings up to the award rate for the work performed. 348. The numbers of men engaged in each main class of work were — Vegetable-production (including seed-growing) .. .. .. 58 Parks and reserves .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 131 Roads, drainage, &c. .. .. .. .. .. .. 148 School and college grounds .. .. . .. .. 22 Harbour-maintenance .. .. .. .. .. .. 2 Lime-production . . .. .. .. .. .. .. 2 Tramways . . .. .. .. .. .. .. 3 Afforestation and soil conservation .. .. .. .. .. 1 Supervisory capacity .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 5 372 349. The following table shows the number in age-groups of those employed at the 31st March, 1946

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Age-group. Number. Percentage. Age-group. Number. Percentage. 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 3 5 15 18 41 0-80 1-35 4-03 4-84 11 02 45-49 50-54 55-59 60 and over 54 45 93 98 14-52 12-09 25-00 26-35 372 100

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(ii) Hostel and Camp Accommodation 350. Reference was made in the previous annual report of the Department to the establishment of hostels at Lower Hutt and Wellington for the accommodation of girls directed from other centres to the Wellington district for employment in munitions work and in other essential industries. During the past year these hostels have been continued and have almost always been filled to capacity. 351. Notwithstanding the lifting of man-power controls covering female workers, the large majority of the girls accommodated at the hostels elected to remain in employment in important industries in the district, rather than accept the offer which was also open to them to be returned to their home districts should they so desire. 352. In view of the willingness of such a large number of these girls voluntarily to remain in employment in the Wellington district where their services were so urgently needed due to the overall shortage of labour that continues to be experienced, it was apparent that consideration* would have to be given to the more or less permanent retention of these hostels for the accommodation of female workers. 353. Due to the centralization of many important major industries in the Wellington - Hutt district —for example, tobacco-manufacture, clothing-manufacture, &c.—and the continuing insufficiency of supply of female labour, it will obviously be necessary for some time to come to continue to attract female workers from the smaller centres and country areas where a sufficient, volume and variety of employment is not offering to assist towards this end, and it has accordingly been decided to continue these hostels in the meantime as a more or less permanent feature of the service to be given to industry by the National Employment Service. 354. In addition to the hostels for girls, the Department also established during the year two camps for male workers in Auckland. These camps, situated at Waikaraka Park and at Avondale Racecourse, were previously used for military purposes and were taken over for the purpose of accommodating male workers directed to Auckland for essential employment, mainly in the food-processing industries. The Waikaraka Park camp was used for accommodating Europeans, and the Avondale camp for accommodating a large number of Maori workers directed to Auckland especially for employment in the freezing-works. 355. During the War period two camps had also been in operation at Wellington and Lower Hutt mainly for the accommodation of men employed in defence-building construction in those districts. These camps were later used to take in housingconstruction workers, and, as a result of the gradual tapering-off of defence-construction work, for the accommodation also of men directed to employment in Wellington and Lower Hutt for a variety of essential industries. These camps were controlled by a semi-Government organization known as Defence Works Camps, but as defence-con-struction work began to decline and the camps were increasingly being used for the purpose of accommodating essential workers generally, negotiations were commenced with a view to this Department taking them over. This was eventually given effect to, and the Department took the two camps over on 2nd May, 1946. 356. These camps will now be retained by the Department and will be used to serve a very important function in the Department's plans towards meeting the off-seasonal unemployment problem that has always existed in a number of the secondary centres. As has been explained more fully elsewhere in this report, in a number of these centres there is always a substantial lay-off for a period of some months during the winter of men engaged in food processing and other seasonal employment, and difficulty has often been presented in placing these men in other productive employment between seasons. 357. There continues to be a very substantial shortage of labour in important industries in Wellington and Auckland districts, and this is work of a type that continues unabated throughout the year. Thus the Department is in a position to offer employment in Wellington and Auckland to these seasonal workers to cover the off-season gap, and by having these camps the Department is in. a position to offer accommodation which could 3—H 11a

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not otherwise possibly be obtained. In this way the men are retained in worthwhile employment and the probable alternative of arranging special off-seasonal employment of lesser value, or perhaps of payment of unemployment benefits for a short period is avoided. 358. In view of the need for this Department, as a means of assisting towards the provision of full employment, to continue to operate hostels and camps specific authority was taken in the Employment Act empowering the Department to establish such accommodation for workers. 359. As the Department was experienced in the operation of hostels, it also took over during the year the control of a new hostel established at the Boat Harbour in Wellington for the accommodation of Cadets in the Public Service. The question of accommodation for these Cadets has always presented a problem as the demand is a very heavy one due to the centralization of the Government Services in Wellington, and the need has been proved by the fact that since this hostel was opened in November, 1945, it has always been filled to its capacity of 98 boarders, and there has always been a fairly lengthy waiting list. Accommodation in this Hostel is restricted to youths under twenty-one years of age. 360. While the camps and the Public Service Hostel are operated directly by the Department, the hostels for girls at Lower Hutt and Wellington are managed on behalf of the Department by the Y.W.C.A. This has been the case since the hostels were first opened, and the Y.W.C.A. has expressed its willingness to continue to operate these hostels for so long as the Department may desire. In view of the efficient manner in which the Y.W.C.A. has administered the hostels, and as it also takes considerable interest in the general welfare of the girls, there is no intention at present of disturbing the existing satisfactory arrangement. The Department wishes to place on record its appreciation of the excellent co-operation extended by the Y.W.C.A. authorities in connection with the administration of these hostels. 361. The capacity of the various camps and hostels as at 31st March, 1946, is set out as fallows : Auckland district — Capacity. Waikaraka Park Camps .. .. .. .. .. .. 220 Avondale Camp .. .. .. .... .. .. 220 Wellington district— Naenae Camp, Lower Hutt .. .. .. .. .. 300 Hataitai Camp, Wellington ... .. .. .. .. 220 Woburn Hostel, Lower Hutt .. .. .. .. .. 264 Orient Hostel, Wellington .. .. .. .. .. 80 Public Service Hostel, Wellington .. .. .. .. .98 (iii) Immigration 362. Inquiries from persons contemplating migration to New Zealand were centralized in this Department in November last, and at that date the Department assumed responsibility for the entry into this country of European-British migrants. The agreements covering assisted migration to New Zealand were suspended at the outbreak of hostilities and have remained in abeyance throughout the year. Therefore the Department has dealt with prospective immigrants solely from the angle of advising people who were in a position to come here on their own initiative. In such cases the inquirers were told of the regulations governing their entry and settlement in New Zealand, and advised concerning their likely employment prospects here. In addition to dealing with the steadily increasing flow of civilian inquiries, the Department has issued certificates authorizing the settlement in New Zealand of many British Service personnel who were serving abroad. These persons who elected, under the British Government Release Regulations, to be demobilized in New Zealand have, subject to health and nationality, been advised that they will be welcome to settle here and that this Department will assist them in finding employment.

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363. The entry of aliens or of non-European British, subjects is still a matter for the Customs Department, and when such persons have applied for permission to settle here the Department has given advice from the employment point of view when such advice has been requested by the Comptroller of Customs. PART IV.—EMPLOYMENT LEVELS SECTION I—EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT IN RETROSPECT (i) Data available on Past Trends and Experiences 364. The year under review has seen the threshold of post-war employment policy crossed. A new approach to employment problems has been established, founded on the study of factual data to an extent not hitherto tackled. Data on employment levels and trends has until the present been deficient. Nevertheless, it is most desirable in crossing the threshold into full-employment policy to construct as coherent a picture as is possible from the scanty data available of the employment trends and experiences of the past, since these experiences throw up the problems which the current and future activities of the National Employment Service will be mainly concentrated on. It is necessary to establish the nature and characteristics of these problems as accurately as is possible if full value is to be derived from the subsequent parts of this report and from succeeding reports of the National Employment Service. 365. Information about the levels of employment or unemployment is particularly deficient in New Zealand for the years prior to 1930. Since 1867 the census returns have provided figures on the occupational distribution of the population, and from 1896 onwards information on unemployment has been included. These five-yearly census returns provide the only complete coverage of data in all fields of employment. The following table shows the main features reflected in census returns :

The population, figures are taken from Volume I of the Census Reports, 1936, and those on unemployment from Volume XI. All tables are exclusive.of Maoris, though prior to 1926 Maori half-castes living as Europeans were included in the population totals. 366. From 1918 onwards information regarding the numbers of people employed in manufacturing industries has been available in the annual Reports on Factory Production. Apart from inference from these reports, the only sources of information regarding employment and unemployment prior to 1930 are the records of unplaced applicants registered at Labour Department Bureaux available from 1892 onwards, and the percentages of trade-unionists unemployed, available from 1925 onwards. From October, -1930, unemployment figures are available at frequent intervals', though changes in administrative procedure make any comparisons between periods somewhat difficult. The coming into force of the Social Security Act in April, 1939, introduced a change in the definition of unemployment and again made comparisons with previous figures difficult. 3*

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Number of Number of Number of Number of ' Population. Males Males Females Females employed. 1 unemployed. eriiployed. unemployed. 1874 300,000 111,000 Not shown 15,000 Not shown 1881 490,000 167,000 Not shown 25,700 Not shown 1891 626,000 207,000 Not shown 45,400 Not shown 1896 703,000 235,000 14,700 50,600 2,630 1901 772,000 274,000 8,400 63,000 1,360 1906 888,000 323,000 8,180 72,000 1,370 1911 1,008,000 363,000 7,150 87,600 1,200 1916 1,099,000 355,000 5,900 97,600 1,150 1921 1,218,000 401,000 11,060 107,600 2,150 ' 1926 1,344,000 438,000 10,690 113,300 2,430 1936 1,491,000 505,000 ■ 35,770 138,900 1,860

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(ii) Developments prior to the Inter-war Period 367. Employment developments over the years prior to 1921 can be passed over briefly. Deficiencies in data make it impossible to do more than survey the broad outlines of employment trends and the general interaction between these and the country's developing economy. Consequently, all that can be achieved in this subsection is to present the background to the employment position and problems of the critical interwar period. 368. The Pioneering Stage, 1840-1868. —New Zealand in the pioneering days exported a very narrow range of products, wool being the staple. By 1861 the number of sheep totalled 2,750,000. During the " sixties " the population increased very rapidly, and with the discovery of gold a new impetus was given to development, and a larger demand was created for agricultural products. The Dominion's economy at this period was unstable, however, and through a number of contributing factors (including a fall in overseas prices, on which the Dominion's economy was largely dependent; a reaction to excessive land speculation ; and the Maori Wars) large-scale unemployment appeared in 1868. 369. Public Works and Immigration, 1869-1878.—The rising price of wool after 1870 and the inauguration of Yogel's public-works policy greatly stimulated employment in all fields. Immigration reached record levels, and a number of secondary industries became established. In the four years 1873-1877 some 907 miles of railway were completed, and roads and harbour-works were also pushed ahead rapidly. The high level of immigration, combined with the high birth-rate, produced a rapid increase in population, the European population growing from 256,000 in 1871 to 490,000 in 1881. As a result of these developments and a boom in overseas prices, land values rose steeply. 370. The Depression of the " Eighties," 1879-1896. —In 1879 the inflationary boom in land values came to an abrupt end, following upon the collapse of overseas woolprices. Imports declined, public works were cut down, while the newly-established secondary industries maintained themselves only by paying low wages and working long hours, abuses which were exposed by the Sweating Commission in 1890. The sharp reduction in public-works activity and the continued arrival of immigrants accentuated unemployment, and a Commission set up in 1883 to investigate the whole problem was unable to suggest any practical remedies. As the position continued to deteriorate, the stream of immigrants gradually came to a stop. Finally, in 1888 the number of departures exceeded the number of arrivals. It appears that mass unemployment was by then extremely widespread, though the lack of data makes any estimate of the numbers involved difficult. In 1888 tariff protection was first granted to a few secondary industries in an effort to relieve the unemployment problem. Closer settlement, which might have helped, was prevented by much of the land being held in large estates, this being especially true of the South Island. 371. The Development of Refrigeration, 1896 -1914. The New Zealand economy was revived by advances in refrigeration and by the rise in world prices which took place in 1896. Before this time the country's overseas income was derived mainly from the export of wool, with'gold, and later wheat, as rather unstable auxiliaries. The demand for meat and dairy products, after the introduction of refrigerated transport, was steadier, and prices of these commodities did not fluctuate to the same extent. Exports of frozen meat increased very rapidly from about 700 tons in 1882, to cover over 50,000 tons in 1891, the industry being able to take advantage of the railways that had been constructed in previous decades. Expansion of the dairy industry was less rapid, exports of butter in 1901 being only 10,000 tons. 372. The 1901 census showed the total labour force to be about 337,000, being made up of 274,000 males and 63,000 females. Over 85,000 of the males were engaged in farming, 22,000 in mining and sawmilling, &c., 71,000 in secondary industry and construction, and 91,000 in tertiary industry. Of the females, 27,000 were engaged in domestic service.

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373. From 1901 to the outbreak of the first World War expansion of secondary industries proceeded at a modest pace, apart from those industries engaged on processing primary products, which expanded much more rapidly. Though some protection had been granted to local manufacturers, New Zealand remained consistently a low-tariff country, and little deliberate attempt was made to foster local industries. The rapidly expanding dairying and meat industries appeared to absorb most of the available increase in capital and labour, and production in these industries increased steadily with an apparently limitless market in Britain and Europe. In 1901 the total value of New Zealand exports was £12,800,000, and in 1914, £26,200,000, a large part of this increase being due to the growth of the dairying and meat industries. By 1911 the male labour force was 363,000, of which farm workers made up 102,000 with secondary industry and building and construction employing 93,000. 374. From 1896 until 1921 prosperity was fairly general, and employment fluctuations, shown by the Labour Department registrations, were due, in the main, to purely local causes. The decline in the demand for grain after the South African War, the falling off in gold-production in Otago in 1903, the decline in flax-production and the slump in overseas markets in 1908 caused temporary rises in unemployment; but the effects were only of a brief duration. 375. The general trend of unemployment figures over this period was downward. Unemployment was still fairly serious in 1896, the census returns showing the total number as over 17,000, including 2,600 women. At this date recovery from the depression was in its initial stages and the occupational distribution of the unemployed displayed a familiar form —a very high proportion amongst constructional workers and labourers. The number of farm workers returned as unemployed was fairly high also. By 1901 the number unemployed had declined to 9,800, but the passing of the Old Age Pensions Act in 1898 may explain part of the fall. In the next ten years the number fell off slightly, though the reductions were not very great, the numbers being 9,500 in 1906 and 8,300 in 1911, but as the total labour force was growing all the time the proportion of unemployed to employed fell considerably. < 376. The War and its Aftermath, 1915-1920.—The outbreak of war in 1914 did not drastically alter the structure of the New Zealand economy, though constructional works of all types were sharply reduced. The 1916 census shows that unemployment was at a level of 7,000, and by 1917 and 1918 serious labour shortages developed. Secondary industries were stimulated in the later stages of the war by the shortages of overseas supplies, the increase being even more rapid in the two post-war years. Farm production did not increase over the same period, there being a decline in 1917 and 1918 as the shortage of labour began to be felt. 377. Increases in the employment of women were not very rapid up to 1929, and at no time in the past was there any reference to a shortage of female labour. Indeed, in 1920, when the post-war boom was at its height, there were not considered to be many opportunities for female immigrants except in domestic service. (iii) The Inter-war Period - Post-war Consolidation and Decline, 1921-1930 378. The drastic fall in overseas prices in 1921 brought the post-war boom to an end, but the effect on employment does not seem to have been particularly marked; employment in secondary industries fell off in 1921-22, but in the next year a full recovery was made. Farmers who had bought land at inflated prices were seriously embarrassed, but the increase in building and the greater numbers employed on public works appear to have prevented any large-scale unemployment from developing. The number of unplaced applicants in the Labour Department's books rose somewhat in the winter of 1922, but fell rapidly, reaching a very low level in 1924 and 1925. At this time the building boom was at its height, overseas prices had risen, and industrial expansion was being pushed ahead rapidly. With the fall in overseas prices in 1926 unemployment

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increased, especially in the winter of 1926, and thereafter showed a steady upward trend, though there was some temporary improvement in 1928. Seasonal fluctuations also? appeared to grow more severe. 379. From 1925 onwards the trade-union returns give some idea of the severity of unemployment in different occupational groups and its incidence in different industrial areas. These show unemployment following the same upward course after 1926, with specially heavy rates in the shipping, sawmilling, and building industries after 1927. Geographically, unemployment was most severe in Auckland, while Canter-. bury was most free from it. 380. At the census date in 1926 the total labour force was returned as 551,000,. made up of 438,000 males and 113,000 females. Those engaged in farming had dropped, but there was a fairly marked increase in secondary industry and building and construction, and in the service industries. Women in industry had fallen off slightly from the level reached in 1921, but the latter figure may have been unduly high owing to the continuing effect of the war. Unemployment stood at about the same level as the 1921 figure, there being 13,215 in 1921 and 13,128 in 1926. The proportion per I,ooo' wage earners had, however, fallen. 381. Widespread concern began to be felt at the increase in unemployment after 1926. New Zealand had lagged behind other countries in making provision for unemployment insurance, and the only method of alleviation was the expansion of the-public-works relief schemes, this being done from 1927 onward, engagement being made through the Labour Department's Employment Bureaux. Late in 1928 the National Industrial Conference met, when the .problem was once more brought to the public notice. Though no detailed remedies were suggested, it was agreed that unemployment was such a serious problem that provision should be made for its relief out of the Consolidated Fund. As a result, the Government set up a Committee in 1928, which issued its first report in 1929, and dealt largely with the Committee's views of the causesof unemployment. Early in 1930 a further report was issued, in which it wasrecommended that a Board be set up to deal with the problem and funds be raised to enable it to give relief. It was not considered that a scheme modelled on that in operation in the United Kingdom would be practicable in New Zealand because of difficulties presented by the seasonal and casual nature of much of the employment in the primary industries. 382 Depression, 1930-1935. —A depression of major severity began in 1930 in New Zealand, beginning with the drastic falls in the prices of primary products in overseas markets. Compared with 1929, the fall in prices reached in 1932 was 63 per cent for wool and 39 per cent, for meat. Dairy-produce prices reached their lowest level in 1934 at a point 47 per cent, below 1929. The value of all exports declined between 1929 and 1931 from £55,000,000 to £35,000,000, and imports correspondingly fell from £48,000,000 to £26,000,000. The direct effects of this fall were serious to the primary producers, and, naturally, the depression spread over all the community. The capital goods industries were hit most severely and the others to varying degrees. Unemployment rose rapidly to reach its highest peak of 79,435 in September, 1933. 383. The Government took three major steps to meet the situation. To restore at least part of the farmers' lost incomes the rate of exchange was arbitrarily raised from 110 to 125 New Zealand pounds to the pound sterling. Costs were lowered by reductions made in wages, salaries, interest, and rents. These two measures were designed tospread the incidence of the depression with some degree of uniformity over the whole community, and other measures were adopted to preserve the financial structure on what was then considered to be sound orthodox lines. These actions assisted in the adjustment of the economy, but, nevertheless, the distortions were sufficiently great tocreate mass .unemployment. To deal with this problem the Unemployment Board was set up, but the Board's functions were very limited, particularly by financial stringency,, and, in addition, it was handicapped by the limited knowledge then available on the causes

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<of and remedies for the problem. The new Board, having no clear policy for maintaining full employment, restricted its activities to various improvisations designed to mitigate the full effects of unemployment. 384. The building and construction industries were hit first, and probably hardest, the number of workers falling from 11,312 in 1929-30 to 9,505 the following year, then to 4,869, and in 1932-33 they reached their lowest level at 3,922. Factory employment •dropped from 82,861 in 1929-30 to 68,967 two years later. Thus the construction and manufacturing industries contributed over 21,000 to the unemployed army. Industries ■did not suffer uniformly ; indeed, the freezing industry's man-power remained steady. ■Capital-goods industries, such as those producing building materials (where employment fell 40 per cent.), motor-cars, furniture, &c., experienced the greatest fall in demand, whereas the processing of foodstuffs was not greatly affected. The industries employing the largest number of women were not among those seriously affected, and the drop in the number of women employed was from 17,355 in 1929-30 to 15,775 in 1931-32 ; in the following year the number was back to 16,467. These figures have been taken from the Year-Books for 1932 and 1936. 385. Railways employment was reduced by nearly a quarter, falling from 19,410 to 14,696. The Post and Telegraph Deparment reduced its staff by 13 per cent, from '9,719 to 8,494, but the remainder of the Public Service was maintained at a level never more than 7 per cent, below the 1929-30 level of 9,850. 386. No accurate estimate is possible of the course of local-body employment as from 1931 onwards, all subsidized relief workers employed by the local bodies being included in their figures. The same difficulty applies to Public Works employees, as men on various relief schemes were considered as Public Works employees. The payments from the Public Works Fund fell from £8,948,000 in 1929-30 to £2,419,000 in 1932-33. 387. After 1929 statistics of farm employment were not collected. Up to that date male farm workers steadily increased in number, rising from 102,771 in 1925-26 to 119,321 in 1929-30. It is probable that the number of farm workers increased during the depression for two reasons. First, in an effort to offset the effects of lower prices production was increased by over a fifth (dairy-produce by a third), and this almost inevitably required additional labour. Secondly, labour was much cheaper owing to lack of work in the cities. 388. No detailed information is available for the service industries and professions •during the depression. During the preceding forty years the number of people who gained their living in the distributive trades, entertainments, and other " tertiary " industries had been rising not only in absolute numbers, but as a proportion of the whole labour force. The decline in the volume of goods available for distribution and the decline in the volume of purchasing-power available to pay for many services probably threw many of such workers out of employment. 389. The combination of all the above changes in employment resulted in the numbers of registered unemployed rising rapidly from 2,466 in September, 1929, to 54,590 in September, 1931, 73,650 a year later, reaching the peak of 79,435 in September, 1933. From that point registrations declined. 390. Recovery from the depression appeared first in the consumers goods industries, and by 1935-36 most industries in this group were employing more workers than they had in 1929-30. The clothing industry in particular expanded rapidly, its workers rising from 7,616 in 1932-33 to 10,296 in 1935-36. A large proportion of these were women, as were also those in the new industry of tobacco-processing. Radio and ■electrical engineering were opening up new avenues of employment for men. Railways -employment expanded, but had not in 1935-36 reached the 1929-30 level, being 2,337 below. The Post and Telegraph Department was nearly back to its pre-depression level, and the other State Departments were 568 ahead.

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391. The laggards in recovery were the building and construction industries, some branches of engineering, and the industries supplying building materials —e.g., cement, bricks, and tiles, &c. 392. The following are the half-yearly figures of registered unemployed as shown by the Unemployment Board's annual reports — September, 1929 .. .. .. .. 2,466 March, 1930 .. .. .. .. .. 3,130' September, 1930 .. .. .. .. 6,025 March, 1931 .. .. .. .. .. 38,028 September, 1931 .. .. .. .. 54,590 March, 1932 .. .. .. .. .. 54,520 September, 1932 .. .. ..73,650 March, 1933 .. .. .. .. .. 66,652 September, 1933 .. .. .. .. 79,435 March, 1934 .. .. .. .. .. 65,387 September, 1934 .. .. .. .. 64,761 March, 1935 .. .. .. .. .. 53,498 September, 1935 .. .. .. .. 60,344 March, 1936 .. .. .. .. .. 54,529 393. The administrative measures adopted to deal with the unemployment problem during this period have been dealt with at length in the annual reports of the Unemployment Board. The Unemployment Board never at any time expressed any particular concern about unemployment amongst women, and all available figures suggest that the problem was not serious. The number of women in factory employment showed a slight drop in 1931-32, but the 1929-30 level was passed in 1933-34. Most women were, of course, employed in the light consumers goods industries, professional offices, domestic services, and the distributive trades, which were not so severely hit. But such an enormous increase in male unemployment probably affected adversely the demand for female labour, the most likely result being that more girls remained at home. These girls would not appear in the unemployment statistics, but normally they would have entered the labour market. 394. Recovery and Soeial Security, 1936-1939. —The census returns of March, 1936, give a picture of the industrial break-up of the population at that time. These figures probably reflect the preceding depression conditions rather more than the succeeding pre-war conditions. In the following table the census figures for 1926 and 1936 are given—

395. In 1936 some 144,000 males were engaged in farming and 45,000 in various types of constructional work. Farming showed an increase over the 1926 figures ; but constructional employment had not fully recovered to the 1926 level. There was a rise in the number of women employed in all industry, although this was no more than proportionate to the increase in female population. A more rapid increase in the employment of women came just before the second World War.

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1926. 1936. Males. Females. Males. Females. Primary production Industrial Transport and communication Commerce and finance Public administration and professional Domestic and personal service Unspecified 138,550 113,372 56,441 64,295 34,307 8,084 23,626 3,526 20,616 2,283 19,493 23,948 36,416 7,040 168,598 129,146 60,022 75,827 37,050 12,263 22,615 6,515 27,712 2,328 24,039 27,686 44,482 6,165 438,675 113,322 505,521 138,927

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396. By 1937 most branches of industry had passed their pre-depression levels of output and employment. Coal-mining was an exception, and in 1939 there were still 1,000 fewer men employed than in 1930. Employment in manufacturing industries rose from 96,401 in 1936-37 to 108,722 in 1939-40. 397. The labour force in the farming industry probably remained fairly stable between 1936 and 1939, with a tendency to decline as farming became increasingly mechanized. 398. With the general rise in prosperity it may be assumed that employment in the tertiary industries would rise also, the number engaged in public administration probably showing the most marked increase. During the depression the numbers engaged in transport and communication fell off, employment on railways showing a marked fall. Though total numbers engaged in 1936 were slightly higher than in 1926 the proportion of the working population so engaged was lower. 399. Building and construction probably showed the most notable rise over the period, especially public-works construction. By 1939 there were 22,000 men engaged on public works and another 15,000 in building. With the addition of all other types of constructional workers, the total must have reached almost 60,000, compared with 45,000 in 1936. Much of the constructional activity, however, was necessary to overtake arrears accumulated during the depression. The following table shows the average numbers employed on building and public-works construction between 1935-36 and 1939-40

400. Just as in the early stages of the depression the decline in the constructional industries had a very severe effect on the whole field of employment, so, conversely, in the period before the war the activity in the constructional industries had a stimulating effect on the whole economy. 401. Unemployment Levels, 1936-1939. —The 1936 census showed the number of unemployed as 37,636, of whom 35,774 were males and 1,862 females, with a further 17,869 persons being classified as partially unemployed. 402. The following table shows the total numbers registered but ineligible for relief, on relief work, on sustenance, and working full time in industry with assistance from the Employment Promotion Fund over the period 1936-39. The figures are taken from the 1939 report on the Employment Division of the Labour Department:—

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— Building. Public Works. Total. 1935-36 8,346 9,764 18,110 1936-37 9,721 17,311 27,032 1937-38 11,471 19,818 31,289 1938-39 14,040 22,660 36,700 1939-40 15,853 21,605 37,458 Figures taken from 1942 edition of the Year-Book

-— Registered but not eligible. Scheme No. 5 Sustenance. Working Full Time in Industry. Total. March, 1936 1,872 15,704 14,443 22,510 54,529 September, 1936 2,209 13,955 25,744 7,511 49,419 March, 1937 2,341 6,621 18,945 6,6i9 34,526 September, 1937 .. .. 2,229 4,714 18,110 11,397 36,450 March, 1938 1,086 2,735 10,874 15,204 29,899 September, 1938 771 • 743 8,061 29,057 38,632 March, 1939 649 77 • 7,256 24,087 32,069

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403. The most rapid decline in unemployment took place between March, 1936,. and March, 1937, the figures after that being much more stable, and it would seem that the most rapid upsurge of business activity came in 1936 and The hard core of unemployment, amounting to between, 20,000 and 30,000, proved very difficult to reduce in spite of greatly increased activity in secondary and constructional industries and the larger export income. About one-third of the total unemployed were marginal workers who would have proved difficult to knit into any peacetime economy, but wartime and immediate post-war experience has shown to what a low level the number of unemployed marginal workers can be reduced if the aggregate demand for labour is sustained. 404. Unemployment Policy, 1936-1939. —In May, 1936, the Employment Promotion Act was passed, and on the Ist June the Unemployment Board went out of existence. The machinery for dealing with unemployment was then handed over tothe Employment Promotion Division of the Labour Department. 405. The policy adopted from 1936 onward was to place as many men as possible in full-time employment at standard rates of pay. Rationed relief work was gradually cut down and was replaced by the provision of full-time work with local bodies at awardrates of pay. 406. Assistance from the Employment Promotion Fund was granted to local bodies to enable them to create useful amenities and to private firms, either as initial assistance,, or as a means towards rehabilitation. In this way those previously unemployed were placed in useful full-time employment, and at the same time the worker's return to his normal trade was not obstructed. 407. The Social Security Act of 1938 provided for a different system of analysing unemployment statistics, those unemployed through maladjustment in industry being separated from those unemployed due to personal inability to work. Thus statistics of unemployment before and after the coming into force of the Act on the Ist April, 1939 r are not strictly comparable. By 1939 the number who could be logically classed as unemployed in New Zealand was very low ; but there was a considerable number who were in employment which was subsidized by the public funds. 408. To assist in the finding of suitable jobs for workers the State Placement Service T a part of the Employment Division of the Labour Department, was established in 1936. Up till then the activities of the Unemployment Board had been directed mainly towards the task of dealing with unemployment, little attention being given to the placing of workers in the most suitable employment. The new Service had two functions—to provide industry with the most suitable available labour, and to secure for the community the benefit of the special training and qualifications possessed by any disengaged individual. Though it took time to gain the confidence of the employers and workers, the Placement Service by 1939 was playing a very useful part in the country's economic life, acting as a " clearing-house for labour." An encouragement was also given to labour mobility, as the individual worker was enabled to gain a clearer idea of the employment opportunities in different parts of the country. 409. Vocational guidance had been neglected in New Zealand, but in 1938 the Employment Division, in conjunction with the Education Department, established Youth Centres in the main cities,-the dual responsibilities being undertaken of vocational guidance and the provision of facilities for placing young people in employment. 410. The coming into force of the Social Security Act in April, 1939, resulted in a fundamentally new approach being made to the whole problem of unemployment. The Social Security Act had instituted an invalidity benefit upon which practically all the unemployables were placed, while the unemployment benefit provided for the relief of those out of work through " frictional " causes and for whom no immediate work could be found. With the coming into use of this more logical classification of unemployment, comparisons between the levels before and after April, 1939, are difficult to make. If, however, men in full-time subsidized employment are included, " unemployment " in New Zealand at the outbreak of war was about 19,000, which meant that New Zealand began the war with a much smaller reserve of unemployed labour than most other countries.

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SECTION lI.—EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT DURING THE WAR, 1939-1945 (i) Total Labour Force 411. The male labour force is estimated to have been 520,000 at the outbreak of war, subject to a natural increase which but for the war would have averaged approximately 6,000 per annum over the period 1939-45. Thus had it not been for the interferences brought about by war, there would have been some 544,000 males available for employment in December, 1943, and 555,000 in December, 1945. The building-up of the Armed Forces from a peacetime strength of 3,000 to a peak figure of 157,000 in 1942 seriously affected these estimates, and, in spite of industrial conscription, deferred retirements, &c., the male working population is estimated to liave fallen in that year to 396,000. By December, 1943, the reduction of the Armed Forces had brought an improvement and the figure had risen to 406,000, but, even as late as December, 1945, with 45,000 men still in the Armed Forces, and a large number whose rehabilitation was incomplete, due to sickness, injuries, necessity for industrial training, &c., there were only some 480,000 men available to industry. A diagramatic representation of these changes is given in Table 23 of the Appendix. 412. Apart from temporary setbacks to industry, war must leave more lasting effects, and not the least is the permanent loss of a considerable portion of the labour force through death and injury on active service. Deaths on active service, excluding those due to natural causes, numbered 10,130. (ii) Distribution of the Labour Force 413. A recently conducted survey of the employment position at October, 1945, yielded figures showing the staffs of the industries surveyed, together with their estimated pre-war staff and facilitated detailed investigation of the effects of this withdrawal of man-power upon various industries. 414. In previous reports estimates have been given of the labour force over the war years, but it has been difficult to produce an accurate picture as reliable information was available over a limited field only. Use was made of — (1) Statistics of recruitments from industry. (2) Special surveys of certain industries. (3) Figures of industrial mobilization for special industries. 415. While these figures were accurate they were not sufficiently comprehensive, and estimates of the labour force had therefore to be approximate within the scope of the information available. 416. With the carrying-out of the recent survey covering all industry other than farming it became possible to check the earlier approximations and to line them up on the actual 1939 and 1945 figures, thus reducing the margin of error to small dimensions. Table 22 of the Appendix shows this amended estimate of the distribution of the labour force over industry, in each of the war years, and a diagramatic representation is given in Table 25. Tables 46 and 47 give detailed results of the October, 1945, survey. (iii) Increased use of Female Labour 417. Perhaps the most far-reaching effect of the reduction of available man-power is the increased use made of female labour in industry. The female labour force was 180,000 in September, 1939. Statistics indicate that of the natural increase in female population approximately 1,000 per annum would normally become available to industry, the remainder being offset by marriage, assumption of home duties, &c. On this estimate the female labour force would have reached 185,000 in 1943, and 187,000 in December, 1945. However, so great was the effect of industrial conscription, continuation of work after marriage, &c., during the war years that by December, 1943, some 228,000 women were employed, and, in addition, 8,000 were in the Armed Forces. The totals declined in succeeding years, and by December, 1945, 200,000 were in employment, and 3,000 in the Armed Services (see also Table 24 of the Appendix).

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(iv) Dissipation of the Hard Core of Unemployment 418. A very noticeable effect of the acute shortage of man-power brought about by wartime requirements was the absorption into industry of almost the entire body of pre-war unemployed. There were approximately 19,000 men on uneihployed benefits or in subsidized work in 1939. By 1943 this figure had fallen to 900. This fall is more remarkable when it is remembered that the figure of 19,000, representing 37 unemployed persons per 1,000 of the male working population, was regarded at that time as an irreducible minimum. (In this connection it is noteworthy that Sir William Beveridge suggests 3 per cent, as the minimum figure in a state of full employment, while other economists have set the figure at between 2 per cent, and 5 per cent.) The figure was made up largely of a small number of " frictional " unemployed, and a large number who were regarded as " unemployable " —men who, for some reason or other, were considered to be unacceptable to industry. The low level of unemployment reached in 1943 has been maintained throughout the war, and, in spite of the return of Service personnel and their re-absorption into industry, the figure at the end of 1945 was approximately 700, or a little over 1 per 1,000 male workers. The present position is that considerably more male labour is required than can be made available, and at the 31st March, 1946, returns from District Employment Officers indicated that there were 7,106 unsatisfied vacancies for males, and only 402 disengaged persons. (v) Depletion of the Less-essential Services 419. Large numbers of males in various less-essential industries were either absorbed into the Armed Services, or spread over higher priority work. The male labour content of miscellaneous services such as hotels, restaurants, and entertainments was 46 per cent, lower in 1943 than in 1939, and in 1945 still remained 16 per cent, below the pre-war total. (vi) Difficulties in the Farming Industry 420. Farming, which accounted for 30 per cent, of the pre-war labour force, contributed a substantial number of men to the Armed Forces, and it has been estimated that in the early part of the war as many as 20,000 men, or approximately one-eighth of the pre-war strength, had been withdrawn from the industry. There were about 8,000 women engaged in farm work in 1939, and some 2,000 more were drawn in to assist in meeting the position, recruitments for the Women's Land Service playing an important part. It is probable that farms were reasonably well manned at the outbreak of war, and a small portion of the unemployed and subsidized workers at that time can be assumed to have been potential farm workers. Nevertheless, the withdrawal of so large a number of males, combined with a small-scale but persistent drift from farming to other occupations, had by 1942 become a limiting factor to any increase in food production. It became necessary to restrict further the movement of workers from the farms, and in 1942 approximately 8,000 men were released from camp to return to the land. By December, 1943, the numbers of males on farms had risen to 143,000, or 92 per cent, of the 1939 figures, and by the end of 1945 had almost returned to pre-war strength. At the 31st March, 1946, an industrial classification of vacancies in industry disclosed out of a total of 7,106 male vacancies as reported to District Employment Officers, only 259 in farming, or under 4 per cent, of the total vacancies. (vii) Position in other Primary Industries 421. Except in the coal-mining industry, where the numbers employed rose throughout the war, the variation in the numbers of males occupied in other primary industries was roughly parallel to that in farming. Return to pre-war strength is, however, slower. There is a marked reluctance of labour to accept the disabilities of remoteness and lack of suitable accommodation and amenities common to much of the employment offering in the sawmilling and coal-mining industries and the numbers

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in the coal-mining industry were maintained at the cost of prolonged man-power controls, this industry being one of the first and one of the last to be controlled. At 31st March, 1946, there were 300 notified vacancies for men in bush sawmilling and afforestation, and 183 in coal-mining. It has been estimated, however, that the bushsawmilling industry alone can absorb 2,000 men to meet post-war needs. The extent to which increasing numbers will continue to be required for the coal-mining industry depends upon the duration of the heavy demand for coal which arose during the war. This in turn depends upon the proportion of increased demand which was due to general industrial expansion as apart from wartime activities and shortage of alternative hydro-electric power. (viii) Deferment of Building and Construction 422. Due largely to the diversion of men to. defence construction work, there was a very marked reduction in numbers engaged in normal activities in the building and construction industry in the early years of the war the numbers falling to about 60 per cent, of the pre-war strength. A strong upward movement followed. Accumulated arrears of construction and repair work caused the numbers to increase rapidly after 1943, and by the end of 1945 the number of males in the industry had reached 87 per cent, of the pre-war strength. There are potentialities for further considerable increases, as is indicated by the fact that out of 7,106 unsatisfied vacancies as at 31st March 1946, 1,816 (or 26 per cent.), were in building and construction. Further expansion will, however, be restricted by a shortage of essential materials and by the difficulty in obtaining a sufficient proportion of skilled workers. (ix) Transport and Communication seriously affected 423. The over-all figures for transport and communication are influenced largely by the employment figures for Railways and Post and Telegraph Departments, where heavy losses of male workers prior to 1943 were in some measure compensated for by recruitment of females. By October, 1945, the total of males plus females employed in these two Departments combined had just returned to pre-war figures ; but whereas females made up 5 per cent, in 1939, their numbers had more than trebled by October, 1945, and represented 18 per cent, of the total number employed. No parallel change occurred in privately conducted transport concerns, and the recently conducted survey covering about four-fifths of such undertakings revealed an increase over 1939 of both male and female employees. By October, 1945, the total labour content in private concerns had increased by about 13 per cent, and the distribution of males and females remained comparatively stable, females representing 6 per cent, in 1939 and 7 per cent, in 1945. (x) Professional Services and Government and Local-authority Administration 424. Professional services and administration are similarly affected by the figures for Government Services. The Departments and local authorities falling into this group include the teaching profession and public hospitals, both employing more females than males. The number of women teachers increased by 20 per cent, over the war years, and there was a substantial increase in nursing staffs in public hospitals. In the Public Service, females employed in purely administrative Departments reached by October, 1945, more than double their pre-war numbers. Here again the survey indicated comparative stability in the privately conducted undertakings, but in this latter group the coverage was too small to be conclusive. (xi) Wholesale and Retail Distribution, Financial Institutions, &c. 425. In the wholesale, retail, and financial group, the survey covered a representative number of establishments, and indicated a decrease of 10 per cent, from 1939 to 1945 in the number of males employed. This decrease was offset by an increase in numbers of females by nearly 15 per cent., leaving the total number employed —males plus females—at approximately the pre-war level. The largest industries covered in this

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group were retail shops employing 42,039 persons in the units covered in 1939, and wholesale merchants, importers, and cool-stores employing 12,387. In October, 1945, the numbers were 41,987 and 11,747 respectively, the percentages of females employed increasing from 45 per cent, and 23 per cent, respectively in 1939 to 48 per cent, and 25 per cent, in 1945. The change was more marked in the case of banks, insurance companies, and similar institutions. In the establishments surveyed in this group out of a total staff remaining constant at about 7,000, females made up 15 per cent, in 1939 and 41 per cent, in 1945. Employers in wholesale, retail, and financial establishments indicated that in their probable future requirements for staff, female labour would play an even larger part. (xii) Growth of Secondary Industries Retarded 426. An outstanding feature of the secondary manufacturing industries is the rapid recovery in numbers employed, after the setback encountered by many of these industries in the early years of the war. By October, 1945, each of the groups surveyed had increased its staff above the pre-war figure. The usual increase in numbers of females was observed, but the distinctive feature of the group was the general increase in numbers of males. The following table shows the extent of the increase in numbers employed in 1945 over the pre-war totals :

427. While the numbers employed have in every case increased, it is important that the effects of war upon secondary industries should not be minimized. These industries were increasing rapidly in pre-war years, and in the five-years prior to the outbreak of war the numbers employed increased by 37 per cent., as compared with the 7-per-cent. increase over the six war years. 428. Food, Drink, and Tobacco. —In the food, drink, and tobacco industries the exceptions to the upward movement are in the biscuit and confectionery industry and in tobacco and cigarette making. Supply difficulties and the reduced numbers of workers available arising out of the non-essential nature of portions of the biscuit and confectionery industry led to a 29-per-cent. reduction in total staff over the war years—the male staff decreased by 18 per cent., as against a reduction of 37 per cent, in female staff. Employers' estimates indicate a probable return to 1939 levels in the post-war years. 429. In the tobacco and cigarette making industry, a small increase in males employed was offset by a reduction in females, the resultant reduction in the total number employed amounting to 4 per cent. Indications are given that the post-war female staff will probably be increased by at least 30 per cent., accompanied by a further small increase in males. If these expectations are realized, the post-war staff will be 27 per cent, higher than in 1939, with" males and females roughly in the same proportions. 430. Clothing, Textiles, and Leather. —The increase of 12 per cent in numbers employed in the clothing and textile and leather industries is significant of the post-war buoyancy of this group. Only one industry —fur coats and necklets—employed smaller

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Industries. Numbers employed—Males plus Females. Pre-wax. October, 1945. Percentage Increase. Food, drink, and tobacco Clothing, textiles, and leather Engineering, motor engineering, and allied Other secondary manufacturing 33,715 27,187 26,176 27,732 35,400 30,395 27,572 29,544 5 12 5 7 114,810 122,911 7

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numbers in 1945 than in 1939. Other industries show increases ranging from 3 per cent, in clothing-factories and 9 per cent, in footwear-manufacture to 49 per cent, in bag and sack manufacture, and 500 per cent, in the small but rapidly increasing industry of carpet-sewing and rug and mat making. 431. Engineering, Motor Engineering, and Allied. —The slow recovery of the motor-assembly and motor-engineering industries in part offsets the upward movement in other branches of the engineering, motor engineering, and allied group of industries. Both the motor industries employed 18 per cent, fewer persons in October, 1945, than in 1939. All the other industries showed increases, the most notable being general engineering (employing the largest number in the group) with 22 per cent, increase, and shipbuilding (employing the smallest number) with 71 per cent, increase. 432. Other Secondary Industries. —Amongst other secondary manufactures, there is greater variation. The following table shows the changes in those employing the largest number of workers :

433. Other industries worthy of note are rubber goods and vulcanizing, which employed over 1,100 workers in October, 1945, as against 459 in 1939, and papermilling, paper bags, and cartons, which increased its staff from 1,095 in 1939 to 1,384 in October, 1945. (xiii) Comparative Stability of Female Labour in Secondary Industries 434. The October, 1945, survey enabled changes in the proportions of males and females engaged in various industries to be studied. The table below sets out the percentage of females to total numbers employed in the secondary industries in 1939 and in October, 1945 :

435. The percentage of females employed is, of course, high when compared with primary industries, where females make up only about 5 per cent, of the total. Notable also is the comparative stability in each group, especially if compared with transport and communication, where , the percentage of females increased from 5 per cent, in 1939 to 18 per cent, in October, 1945. Comparison should also be made with professional services and administration, where the proportion of females to total persons

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Employees—Males phis Females. Percentage Increase. Percentage Decrease. 1930. October, 1945. Chemical, vegetable, and animal products 3,545 4,559 29 Bituminous roofing, building-sheet, &c. 2,663 2,978 12 Joinery and woodworking .. 2,487 2,765 11 Brick, tile, and concrete products 1,902 2,112 11 Furniture and blindmaking 3,225 3,060 5 Printing, publishing, and photography 6,502 5,836 10

Percentage of Female employees to Total Number employed. Industries. 1939. October, 1945, Food, drink, and tobacco 21 21 Clothing, textiles, and leather 69 67 Engineering, motor engineering, and allied 10 14 Other secondary manufactures 16 19 All secondary industries surveyed 29 30 Total labour force .. ,. 26 31

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employed rose from 49 per cent, in 1939 to 60 per cent, in October, 1945. Government Departments and local bodies employed 15,000 more females in October, 1945, than in 1939 (including war time replacements still continuing at the later date), and it is not surprising that striking changes should be observed in transport and communication and in professional services and administration, where Government Departments and local authorities play so large a part. (See Table 27 of the Appendix for further illustration of changes in sex composition over the war years.) 436. Food, Drink, and Tobacco. —In the food, drink, and tobacco industries there were decreases in females employed in biscuit-making and confectionery, and in tobacco and cigarette making. All but theke two industries in the group had increased their female staff above pre-war level by October, 1945, keeping (except in the case of baking, where male employees decreased) a fairly constant ratio of males to females. In October, 1945, female labour predominated in three industries — namely, biscuit and confectionery, where females comprised 54 .per cent, of the total staff; pastrycooks and home cookeries, 75 per cent. ; and tobacco and cigarette making, 75 per ceat. These industries accounted for approximately one-sixth of the total labour strength of the group. 437. Clothing, Textiles, and Leather. —The clothing, textiles, and leather group employs 10 per cent, of the female labour force, and contains the two largest users of female factory labour —namely, woollen-knitting and hosiery-mills, employing 3,514 females in the units surveyed, and clothing-factories, employing 12,789. The group is characterized by the larger proportion of female employees and by the comparative stability of this proportion over the war years. A consideration of the movement of its three largest members will serve as an illustration :

438. In October, 1945, these three industries made up four-fifths of the labour strength of the group. 439. Engineering, Motor Engineering, and Allied.—ln the engineering, motor engineering, and allied trades female labour plays a relatively minor part. There are, however, some 1,600 females in general engineering industries, and over 800 in motor engineering. 440. Electrical engineering and radio manufacture employing 2,493 males and 824 females has the largest percentage (25 per cent.) of females to total staff. 441. Other Secondary Industries. —A heterogeneous collection of industries is marshalled under the heading of " Other Secondary Industries," but it is interesting to note that while there was a decrease in the number of males in some industries, .notably, in industries working in timber or wood, and in printing, publishing, and photography, the survey disclosed in every industry greater numbers of females in 1945, than in 1939. *> ■ 442. Significant changes in the female labour content are found in the two largest employers of labour in the group —namely, the manufacture of animal, vegetable-, and 'mineral'products, where 27 per cent, of the 3,545 workers were females in 1939, as

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Industry. Pre-war Labour Force. October , 1945. Males. Females. Total. Percentage of Females. Males. Females. Total. Percentage of Females. Woollen-knitting and 1,691 2,997 4,688 64 2,156 3,514 5,670 62 hosiery-mills Clothing-factOries 2,286 12,388 14,674 84 2,245 12,789 15,034 85 Footwear-manufacture.. 1,888 1,783 3,671 49 2,115 1,892 4,007 47

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against 35 per cent, of 4,559 in October, 1945 ; and in printing, publishing, and photography, where the percentage increased from 30 per cent, of 6,502 to 35 per cent, of 5,836. The only marked decrease in percentage of females occurs in the papermilling, paper bags, and cartons industry, where the male staff increased from 560 to 785, and the female staff from 535 to 599, females making up 49 per cent, in 1939 and 43 per cent, in October, 1945. 443. Notable among the smaller industries in brick, tile, and concrete products, where the female staff trebled in numbers over the war years, and made up 10 per cent, of the total in 1945, as against 4 per cent, in 1939. (xiv) Cumulative Effects 444. It will be convenient now to summarize briefly the cumulative effects of the wartime changes as at December, 1945, bearing in mind that at that time there were still 45,000 men and 3,000 women in the Armed Services, and that the industrial figures represent only a partial recovery from the more drastic interference with industry necessitated by the war. (The figures quoted below are approximate.) 445. In 1939 it is estimated that the labour force (including unemployed persons) was 700,000, made up of 520,000 males and 180,000 females. In December, 1945, the figures were 480,000 males and 200,000 females, a decrease of 40,000 males and an increase of 20,000 females. 446. The changes were spread over industry as follows :

Changes in Total Employees, 1939 to December, 1945

447. Comment lias already been made upon the changes occurring in each group of industries. Over industry as a whole the available labour force has shrunk by some 20,000 persons, but (owing to the fact that in 1939 there were 19,000 of this labour force unemployed, as against less than 1,000 in 1945) the reduction in labour actually employed was only 2,000, despite some 48,000 persons still in the Armed Forces. Of those actually employed in 1945, however, 20,000 were women who had been wartime entrants to industry and whose continuance in employment was problematical. In the absence of comprehensive production figures for 1945 it is difficult to estimate the extent to which industry has expanded in the face of wartime difficulties, but there is no' dotibt that the reduction of 2,000 was only a fraction of the overall shortage of labour in industry. At 31st December, 1945, there were 13,532 notified vacancies in industry, as against 479 disengaged persons. By 31st March, 1946, the Armed Services had been reduced by a further 22,500 persons, but the figure for vacancies in industry had risen to 17,035, with disengaged persons numbering only 426.

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Industry. Reduction in Males % employed. Increase in Females employed. Net Reduction. Farming Other primary industry Building and construction Transport and communication Secondary industries Distribution and finance Professional services and administration Miscellaneous services Unemployed absorbed into industry and Armed Forces .. 1,000 1,000 6,000 3,000 4,000* 4,000 3,000 8,000 18,000 3,000 6,000 10,000 2,000f 1,000 1,000 6,000 7,000* 2,000* 7,000* 10,000 18,000 Labour force 40,000 20,000 20,000 * Increase. t Decrease.

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448. Absorption of increased numbers of women into industry was an important factor in enabling New Zealand to contribute such a large number of men to the allied Armed Forces and to remain a major food-producer without seriously impairing her industrial effort in other directions. The return of servicemen and their reabsorption into civil life focuses attention on the outlook for women in industry. At 31st December, 1945, there were 22,000 less men and 20,000 more women in industry than at the outbreak of war, but vacancies for women exceeded those for men, there being 6,012 notified vacancies for men, as against 7,520 vacancies for women. At 31st March, 1946, there were 7,106 vacancies for men and 9,929 for women. Three important factors should be considered in reference to the increasing shortage of women in industry (a) The female labour force reduced rapidly due to increasing marriages, &c., during the year 1945, the rate of withdrawal probably being particularly high in late 1945 and early 1946. (b) Women have during the war proved their ability to undertake many occupations, especially in transport and communication, in commerce and finance, and in public administration and professional services, which were previously regarded as an exclusive field for men. (c) There has been continued growth of a type of light industry requiring predominantly female labour, especially in the clothing, textiles, and leather group of secondary manufactures. SECTION lII.—DISTRICT-BY-DISTRICT EMPLOYMENT POSITION OVER THE TWELVE MONTHS Whangarei District 449. For males in this district (with available vacancies notified exceeding, on an average, the numbers of those disengaged and seeking employment through the Department by approximately 6 to 1 over the period) the employment position has been good, though the range of employment offering has not been so great as in the case of most other districts. There has also been a shortage of female labour, as evidenced by the vacancies notified at the end of each month, which fluctuated between 68 and 33, as compared with no more than 2 persons registered as disengaged at any one time. 450. Lack of housing and accommodation for single men has influenced to some extent the availability of labour for some industries grouped within this district (particularly farming and cement works). The demand for skilled tradesmen has greatly exceeded that for unskilled labour, though even for unskilled men, particularly fit men,, the demand has exceeded the supply, and no particular difficulties have been experienced in the placement of any men available. The most steady demand for skilled men during the year has come from the building and construction industry, in which there has been a constant shortage of skilled tradesmen. (a) Farm-produce.-—-The exceptionally dry season, amounting to drought conditions, experienced towards the latter part of 1945 and early part of 1946 had a marked effect, particularly on the dairy-farming industry. Reduction in butterfat-production, as reflected also in dairy-factory production, meant a comparatively short season, and with it a lesser demand for the employment of farm hands, though it is to be noted that there was no recorded increase in the numbers of disengaged farm labourers enrolled as seeking employment. (b) Cement-works. —In the cement works some difficulties were experienced during the year in obtaining sufficient employees, both skilled and unskilled. More vacancies might have been filled but for insufficient accommodation for men available from rural districts. Arrangements now made for the provision of additional accommodation for 30 single men will assist the position. Shortages of coal-supplies have also had an effect on the demands for labour. (c) Timber-mills.—Demands received for labour have been very limited, the highest recorded number standing at 3 only. A severe loss to the district was the destruction of the mill at Omahutu,. employing approximately 25 men. (d) Hospitals and Hotels.—The shortage of domestic staff has been evident throughout most hospitals and hotels in the district, particularly in the rural areas, and the position has not shown any signs of improvement. (e) AJiipara Gumfields. —A recent survey in the north in the Mangonui County shows that there is no shortage of employment in this area. Considerable numbers of Maoris have been engaged on the gumfields latterly. (/) Returned Servicemen. —In general, no difficulties have been experienced in assisting in the placement of returned servicemen back into industry, apart from temporary delays occasioned through accommodation difficulties or, in limited cases, a preference to wait for alternative opportunities rather than to accept work immediately offering.

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Auckland District 451. In this district notified vacancies for male labour have, on an average exceeded the number of disengaged persons seeking employment by approximately 19 to 1 for the .period, and the employment position has been most buoyant. In the case of female labour there has also been an extreme shortage, and the pressing demands by all industries have resulted, in a number of cases, in extraordinary offers by employers in conditions of employment in an endeavour to attract female staff. Notified vacancies for females rose rapidly from 1,195 at 30th September, 1945, to 3,107 at 31st March, 1946. Removals of man-power controls and directions, marriages, and resumption of home duties following the return to New Zealand of overseas servicemen have all contributed to swell the rapidly rising tide of shortages existent to-day throughout most industries requiring female labour in this district. 452. Almost every classified industrial group is operating iu this particular district, and in almost all cases, to a greater or lesser degree, shortages of labour, both skilled and unskilled, exist. The position in some of the more important industries is now examined : (a) Building.—ln the building industry, the demand for skilled tradesmen in all sections of the industry has remained undiminished and shows a gradually increasing trend with 424 unsatisfied vacancies notified at 31st March, 1946, as compared with 303 at 30th September, 1945. With the proportion of vacancies at 31st March, 1946, for skilled tradesmen when compared with those for unskilled men standing at approximately 10 to 1, the demand for builders' labourers has been comparatively limited, though more would probably be required if more tradesmen were available. Shortage of timber, cement, and other building materials has, without doubt, hampered this industry and, although a brisk demand for tradesmen has remained, has necessitated the transfer of men from one job to another to an increasing extent to enable continuity of employment to be maintained. (b) Freezing-works.—The customary heavy seasonal demands for labour in this industry were satisfactorily met and, although at the peak period a limited number more men could have been employed, the position was not at any stage acute. Apart from approximately 750 regular employees customarily employed and available each year during the busy season, the majority of vacancies are for unskilled men. Drought conditions resulted in larger killings during the seasonal peak (particularly of beef) on account of the desire of farmers to turn in their stock to the best advantage before shortage of feed affected it. Up to the end of March, when the season was already tapering off, no difficulty was experienced in finding employment for those displaced. (c) Engineering.—The demand for all classes of skilled tradesmen (especially moulders) and for labourers fit for heavy work has remained fairly constant. At 31st March, 1946, unsatisfied vacancies were 244, with the proportion of skilled to unskilled standing at approximately 2 to 1. In the motor trades a dearth of coach-builders and panel-beaters exists, but comparatively few vacancies are notified for motor mechanics. There has been a considerable demand for the latter work by men coming out of the Armed Forces. (d) Transport and Communications {i.e., Railways, tramways, bus and motor services, Post and Telegraph, &c.). —-Unsatisfied vacancies notified by the Post and Telegraph and Railways Departments have been increasing and stood at 228 on 31st March, 1946. While skilled men are required (particularly by the Railways) the main demands have been for juveniles and unskilled labour. In the case of the motor services and tramways, notified vacancies have been declining steadily, particularly in the case of the motor services in which only 24 vacancies remained offering on 31st March, 1946, mainly for drivers. (e) Fertilizer-works, Brickworks, Tanneries, and other " Heavy " Industries. —Demands for labour in these industries, though not of the same dimensions numerically, could absorb quite a number of unskilled men. Difficulties are being experienced in obtaining labour able and willing to undertake employment in these industries owing to the work offering generally being of a heavy and relatively unattractive kind. (/) Clothing-manufacture.—Easily the most marked shortages of female labour have been recorded in this industry. The position was fairly acute at the end of January, when notified vacancies stood at 384. With the revocation of man-power controls on 31st January, 1946, these notified vacancies rose very sharply, reflecting the extensive exodus which took place. At 28th February, 1946, unsatisfied vacancies were recorded as 1,529, while at 31st March, 1946, the number had further increased to 1,752. (g) Footwear Industry.—Vaeancies for females rose during the first ten months of the period under review, but have since remained almost stationary at the higher level during the last two months of the year. Total female vacancies at 31st January, 1946, were 191, and at 31st March, 1946, were 192, of which approximately two-thirds were for skilled labour (largely female machinists). Vacancies for males have fluctuated, but the shortages recorded have not been very marked, standing at only

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49 on 31st March, 1946. To some extent the further engagement of male labour is dependent on the availability of female labour, particularly machinists. It is of interest to note that a number of firms have recently -established branch factories in smaller towns in the Auckland Province with a view to overcoming the acute shortage of female labour in the Auckland urban area. (h) Hospitals.—There have been shortages of female labour in hospitals during the past year, rising to a peak of 305 vacancies at 31st January, 1946. By 31st March, 1946, however, this had been slightly reduced. The majority of vacancies are for domestic staff and nurse trainees. (i) Hotels and Restaurants.—Here again there has been a steady shortage of female labour recorded, mainly for experienced hands, with the peak shortage of 231 notified vacancies occurring at 30th November, 1945. (j) Other Industries employing Female Labour.—Most other industries where female labour is employed in the Auckland area record shortages to a greater or lesser degree—e.g., rubbermanufacture, carton-making, jam-making, laundries, printing, flock and felt manufacture, &c. (k) Returned Servicemen. —Owing to the wide industrial range and the volume of employment opportunities offering in this district, both for skilled and unskilled workers, no difficulties were encountered in placing ex-servicemen. A notable feature was the number who inquired regarding prospects of employment in the country districts. Hamilton District 453. Notified vacancies in the Hamilton district exceeded, on an average, the number of disengaged persons seeking employment by approximately 62 to 1 for the period. The employment position has likewise been markedly buoyant. In the case of women there has also been a marked shortage of female labour, and no unemployment has been recorded. No difficulty has been experienced in suitably placing any persons seeking work, male or female, and even in the case of semi-fit or partially disabled men able to do only light work or work of a sedentary nature it has generally been possible to locate suitable employment within a comparatively short time. There has been a definite shortage of tradesmen in various industries, and no doubt, if more skilled men were available, it would be possible to absorb quite a number of additional unskilled workers. 454. Accommodation, both for married and single men, has been a limiting factor in various industries (particularly coal-mines, dairy factories, and farms) and has contributed materially to the inability to fill many of the vacancies. Instances have occurred where several inquirers for work in coal-mines could not be placed in existing vacancies through lack of accommodation at or near the mines. (a) Farming (mainly Dairying).—The manning of farms was substantially easier than during the previous year. This was due partly to the return of men from the Armed Forces. Drought and peat fires caused a rapid decline in dairy-production in January, 1946, and larger forwardings of stock to the freezing-works for killing resulted. No calls upon the Department were made for shearers, and no difficulties were experienced over the harvesting period. Although the Department had arranged for a number of volunteers to be available for harvesting, only limited calls were made on these. (b) Dairy Factories. —The seasonal up-swing of activities saw a limited number of unsatisfied vacancies, and in some cases lack of accommodation made these difficult to fill. Fit men with some prior experience were mainly required. At the peak period the majority of factories were working a forty-eight-hour week .reduced in January in most factories to a forty-hour week, when the effects of the drought became apparent. Falling off in supplies and, in March, the diversion of considerable quantities of milk to Auckland, forced small reductions of staff to be made. (c) Coal-mining.—A steady demand for labour (particularly truckers and hewers) has been evident, the demands being particularly heavy for reasonably fit younger men. Lack of available accommodation in the mining townships, combined with some unwillingness to go underground, have been retarding factors. (d) Building Industry.—Shortages of skilled tradesmen of all kinds have been recorded during the period under review. Even so, shortages of materials (mainly timber, bricks, cement, and galvanized iron) have limited demands for labour which would otherwise have been much greater. (e) Hydro-electric Construction Schemes at Karapiro and Maraetai.—Skilled tradesmen have been, and continue to be, most in demand. In the latter half of the year under review there was no demand for labourers.

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(/) Freezing-works (Horotiu). —With a seasonal peak demand, apart from permanent staff, of approximately 450 men, staffing requirements were satisfactorily met, largely by drawing upon the seasonal register of men available, together with men volunteering for this work. Additional accommodation provided at the works hostel eased the position. Initial difficulties in obtaining sufficient slaughtermen were overcome as shearers became available and as releases from the Army proceeded. Despite larger killings of stock, the work was fully maintained right to the end of the period under review. (g) Hospitals (including Mental Hospital).—A definite shortage of workers of all classes, particularly domestic staff, has been evident in the hospitals, though the position has not been serious. Lack of living-in accommodation and irregular bus services have been restrictive factors, though endeavours have been made to overcome these difficulties. (h) Hotels and Restaurants. —A shortage of waitresses and other domestic staff has been apparent, though the recorded number of unsatisfied vacancies has not been unduly high, standing at 40 on 31st March, 1946. (i) Returned Servicemen.—The position regarding the placement of ex-servicemen in this district has been very satisfactory. Skilled men and fit unskilled men have been easily placed, and, even in the case of those fit only for work of a light or temporary nature, placements have generally been effected after the lapse of a day or two. Paeroa District 455. Vacancies for males notified to the Department during the period were fourteen times as great as the number of persons seeking employment. Cases of unemployment have been largely " frictional," due in part to a somewhat fluctuating demand for male labour in different industries, but also to the return to pre-war employment of many discharged returned servicemen. This has resulted in the temporary displacement of a number of unskilled or only partly skilled men until they have been satisfactorily absorbed into other suitable occupations. Incidentally, the return of skilled labour from the Forces has in several instances enhanced the opportunities of employment for the semi-skilled and unskilled workers. (a) Farming Industry.—-At the end of September, 1945, male vacancies notified for all farms were 31, of which 27 were on dairy-farms, but since this date the number still offering had fallen off to only 7at the end of March, 1946. This easing of the position was largely the result of demobilization. Owing to the lack of married accommodation, most requests for labour have been for single men particularly youths. (S) Dairy Factories. —A concentrated drive for volunteer labour resulted in the reduction of the notified vacancies from 96 at the beginning of the season to nil in November. (c) Other Industries. —Vacancies for skilled men have been buoyant, particularly for building tradesmen, for underground miners (gold-mining) at Waihi, and for engineering personnel of all kinds at Thames. Large areas of developmental work being undertaken by the Drainage Branch of the Lands and Survey Department at Kerepeehi, on the Hauraki Plains (with ample single accommodation), have absorbed a number of men, largely unskilled. If the Paeroa-Pokeno Railway, to give direct access to Auckland, is proceeded with, it will give a marked impetus to employment in Paeroa and its environs. At least sixteen separate business firms have opened up in anticipation of this work being procseded with and as a result of the female labour shortage in larger centres. - (d) Females. —There has been no recorded unemployment. With exceptional competition for labour by factories in the Auckland Province (particularly in the latter part of the period under review), the demands for female labour have been well in excess of women available. The opening-up of a boot-factory at Thames has further added to the demand for labour. In the clothing industry notified vacancies rose suddenly from 6at 15th February, 1946, to 50 at 28th February, 1946. The position of the hospitals (Thames, Waihi, Coromandel, and Whitianga), particularly regarding domestic staff, has been very difficult, and institutions have in the latter stages of the year been relying partly on temporary help by elderly people. The nursing position is also difficult. Rotorua District 456. With notified vacancies exceeding the number of disengaged persons on an average by 28 to 1 in the case of males during the period, the employment position has continued buoyant. For females, similarly, vacancies have greatly exceeded disengaged persons, and there has been no unemployment. A steady demand for labour persists throughout the majority of industries in the district with a corresponding shortage of personnel available. (a) Bush and Saivmilling Industry.—There has been a marked shortage, particularly of experienced timber-workers, for both bush and sawmill work; skilled men simply have not been available, and key men have been at a premium. Throughout a considerable part of the industry the lack of

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Accommodation available, the remoteness and the rigorous nature of the work, and the lack of social amenities do not attract workers. Generally speaking, there has been little apparent attempt to train young men to counterbalance the outflow of older and unfit men from this highly skilled industry. The disastrous fires in this area gave an added, though temporary, setback to the industry. (b) Dairy-farming.—Due partly to the prolonged dry season, the demand for farm hands has not been as great as during the previous twelve months. Nevertheless, vacancies, particularly for single experienced farm hands, have remained fairly constant. The dearth of accommodation has made the placement of married farm workers difficult. (c) Seasonal Labour (Harvesting).—The position was satisfactorily met. The co-operation of the Maori Section of the Primary Production District Council and of the Native Department assisted materially, and several teams of Maoris were engaged upon this work. Assistance was also given by a team of high-school boys during the summer vacation. (d) Building Industry.—The demand for all classes of tradesmen has remained brisk, despite the release of a number of tradesmen from the Forces. The construction of dwellings, cow-sheds, &c., on the Galatea Soldier's Settlement Scheme, the construction of a new sawmill and dwellinghouses at Mamaku, and the provision of mill-houses for the State Forest Service at Kaingaroa all increased the demands for tradesmen. (e) Hospitals.—The greatest calls have been for domestic assistance, though quite a measure of success in relieving the position in most hospitals followed from efforts made to interest Maori girls in hospital work. (/) Hotels and Restaurants.—Although demands for staff required to cater in the main for tourists and holiday-makers during the summer existed in practically every unit, nevertheless the majority were able to cope with the seasonal influx of visitors. Cooks were in the greatest demand. {g) Returned Servicemen. —No great difficulties have been experienced in suitably placing exservicemen. Employers generally have been most helpful, and it has been possible to meet a man's needs as a rule with little delay. Taumarunui District 457. In this district (which is a small one) there has been no unemployment. On the other hand, notified vacancies, for males varying from 130 to 81 and for females varying from 29 to 12, during the period indicate the shortage of labour in this district. For males the main shortages of labour have been in the sawmilling and coal-mining industries ; for females, in hotels and restaurants and in hospitals. Until more and better accommodation is available it is unlikely that many of the male vacancies can be filled. In the timber industry, particularly, remoteness, lack of accommodation and amenities, and to some extent climatic conditions in some parts of the area, limit the ability to recruit labour. The placement of discharged servicemen, both skilled and unskilled, back into industry has proceeded steadily and has presented no difficulties. Gisborne District 458. In the case of males, though available vacancies notified have exceeded on an average the numbers of those disengaged and seeking employment by approximately 4 to 1 for the period, the employment position has been less favourable than in most other districts. Of the vacancies offering, approximately half have been for farm positions (shepherds, fencers, &c.), and in the majority of cases have been only suited to single men. The majority of the remaining vacancies have been for skilled men only, and consequently a small local unemployment problem has been evident in this district from time to time during the twelve months. The problem is essentially one of lack of suitable employment opportunities offering to unskilled seasonal labour during the period March to October inclusive. There are only restricted opportunities offering in the few, but small, secondary industries in this area. In the case of females, vacancies offering, which averaged 46 over the period, have been well in excess of the numbers (no more than sat any one stage) who have registered for employment. Nevertheless, opportunities of employment for female labour in this district are fewer than in most other districts of New Zealand owing to the comparative lack of manufacturing industries.

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(a) Farming (preponderantly, though not entirely, Sheep-farming).—Up to 31st December, 1945, a large number of vacancies on farms were notified, mainly for shepherds and fencers. (Notified vacancies' at 30th September, 1945, 278 ; 15th December, 1945, 109 ; and 31st March, 1946, 30.) In a majority of cases only single or tent accommodation was available, and consequently such vacancies could not absorb married men. From December onwards, with the onset of severe drought conditions and consequent uncertainty on the part of the farming community as to the future (and later on grass and scrub fires), and with the return of considerable numbers of men from the Armed Forces, a marked drop in vacancies occurred. Although the breaking of the drought in March slightly eased the position,, the rain came too late to be of any real benefit to pastures this season, and consequently the employment prospects open to farm hands during the coming winter period appear to be limited. (b) Harvesting and Shearing.—Few calls for labour were received, and farmers evidently had little difficulty in handling both these activities. (c) Freezing-worlcs.—With Tokomaru Bay works resuming about the end of October, Gisborne Refrigerating Co. about the middle of November, and the Wairoa works about the beginning of December, no difficulties were experienced in meeting the demands of this industry for labour. While seasonal activities remained at a high level, all fully-fit men, including all available unskilled men, were readily placed in employment. Peak employment figures were reached in December, and, due to the abnormal drought season and the consequent abnormally heavy killings of stock, the seasonal workers engaged in this industry were fully maintained in employment until the drought broke early in March. The immediate effect was the withholding of a small balance of stock and terminations of employment in freezing-works commenced about the middle of March. It has been estimated that by the time activities cease for the season approximately 175 or more freezing-workers will be looking to this Service for assistance in obtaining employment. (d) Wool-stores.—ln engaging labour the wool-stores gave a measure of preference to ex-servicemen who desired this work during the seasonal period from late October until March. Full staffs were engaged as soon as required. (e) Building Industry.—Vacancies offering (almost entirely for tradesmen) have remained fairly steady at about 30, despite reported shortages of all building materials (timber, cement, roofing,, fittings, &c.). (/) Returned Servicemen.—Although in the initial stages of the year and during the seasonal peak few difficulties were experienced in suitably placing ex-servicemen, it became increasingly apparent that difficulties would arise as the season tapered off, particularly in locating suitable employment for fit unskilled men and semi-fit men. With little or no alternative local work of any permanency offering in this district, difficulties had already begun to show in March in the placement of unskilled ex-servicemen, and with further registrations of men after completion of their discharge leave, the position was expected to become increasingly difficult. Napier-Hastings District 459. In the case of male labour the number of notified vacancies exceeded on an average the numbers of those disengaged and seeking employment through this Service by approximately 6 to 1 for the period, and employment has been readily available. This district, however, particularly in the Hastings area, is essentially a primaryproducing one requiring a large pool of seasonal workers to cope with the work offering in freezing-works, wool-stores, orchards, harvesting, market gardening, &c. While there is therefore abundant work offering during the season, only limited employment prospects offer during the off-seasonal period from approximately May to October inclusive. 460. In the case of female labour with no more than 5 registered at any one stage asdisengaged (1 at 31st March, 1946), it has usually been possible to effect immediate placement of any persons registering for employment. While a definite shortage of female labour has been in evidence, it has been possible to keep reasonably abreast with the replacement needs of most industries. (a) Freezing-works.—Upon the resumption of large-scale killing activities in this industry in November the demand for labour was adequately met, although it was necessary to issue a limited number of directions in order to fully staff the works. Due to the abnormally long dry spell of weather and the consequent serious shortage of feed, exceptionally large numbers of stock were received for killing, and, with a full staff available, the works were able to reach peak seasonal killings at a much earlier date than usual With the breaking of the drought, however, late in March, nearly 350 men were released from this industry within a month. Nevertheless, no appreciable increase resulted in the numbers enrolled for employment owing to the number of other vacancies then existing in the district, particularly the need for labour on orchards. (b) Farming Industry.—Only limited demands for labour have been forthcoming from the farming industry during the period. This was largely due, no doubt, to the long period of drought conditions. Insufficient accommodation for married persons limited the ability of the Department to fill vacanciesoffering. Surprisingly small demands were made for harvesting labour, even allowing for the poor yield of crops.

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(c) Orchard Work and Vegetable-growing.—With the peak period of activity and the consequent demand for pickers, graders, and packers coming towards the end of March it was possible for orchards to absorb a considerable amount of unskilled labour immediately following termination from the freezing-works. The cessation of hostilities has resulted in the cancellation of the vegetable-growing contracts and the closing-down of the dehydration plant in Hastings. (d) Building and SawmiUing Industries.—There has been a steady demand for skilled tradesmen in the building industry, although the return of a number of servicemen to pre-service employment has eased the position somewhat. The sawmilling industry in the district, in addition to some shortage of skilled men, has been affected by the destruction of the Pohukura Timber Co.'s mill by fire (employing approximately 20 men). (e) Female Labour.—Shortages of female labour have been most apparent in hospitals, hotels, and restaurants. The position of the hospitals has been most difficult and, although some relief has been obtained, the shortage of domestic staff still remains a problem. (/) Returned Servicemen.—No undue difficulties have been encountered in the placement of fit ex-servicemen, though after March, 1946, with the slackening off in demands for labour, the position may become more difficult, particularly in placing men fit only for fight employment, of which there is a dearth in the district. New Plymouth District 461. Vacancies notified for males have exceeded the numbers of disengaged persons by approximately 3J to 1 on an average over the period, and the employment position has been reasonably buoyant. Enrollees, particularly fully-fit men, have been readily absorbed into existing vacancies. This closely-settled dairy-farming district has a considerable absorptive capacity during the off-seasonal period for casual farm labour. Nevertheless, work offering, particularly for unskilled or only semi-fit labour, during the months of May to August inclusive is not plentiful. 462. No difficulties have been encountered in effecting placements of disengaged female labour. Some shortages of female labour have been in evidence in this district, though of only comparatively small numbers due to the limited development of any secondary industries. Shortages are mainly confined to hotels, restaurants and hospitals. (a) Farming (largely Dairy-farms).—A recent survey of the labour position on farms in this district has shown that the overall farm-labour content has increased within a period of twelve months by 600 or more men. This has been due mainly to discharges from the Armed Forces. Consequently, although many demands for suitable farm labour have been received throughout the period under review, the vacancies offering show a diminishing trend. A certain amount of casual work is likely to be available during the off season and no unemployment of any significant magnitude is expected. (b) Dairy Factories.—The large number of cheese and butter factories in this district requires, over a period of approximately eight or nine months of each year, a seasonal intake of approximately 500 men. Although some initial difficulties were experienced in finding sufficient suitable labour to meet the demands of this industry, the great majority of the vacancies notified were satisfied. (c) Freezing-works.—With a seasonal intake of approximately 350 men, the Waitara works was able to absorb by January all fit men available. Although the full complement of men who could have been absorbed was not attained, the total number of men engaged was only a few less than the previous year's peak figures, and a record daily output for the works was reached. : (d) Building and Engineering Industries.—An average of approximately 30 unsatisfied vacancies (all for skilled tradesmen) notified in these two industries indicates a steady demand for, and a shortage of, suitable tradesmen. (e) Returned, Servicemen.—The placement of ex-servicemen who have registered for employment has proceeded satisfactorily, though in some cases it has not always been possible to place the men immediately in the occupations desired. Such cases have, however, been kept under review with the object of transferring the men as and when more suitable positions become available. Wanganui District 463. In this district notified vacancies for males have exceeded on an average the numbers of disengaged males seeking employment by approximately 5 to 1 over the period, and, generally speaking, very little difficulty has been experienced in placing fit men, particularly during the period of peak seasonal employment. On the other hand, men only semi-employable or fit for light work only have not been so readily placed. During the off-seasonal period vacancies for unskilled workers are not easy to locate. 464. In the cases of females, with not more than one seeking employment at any one time as compared with notified vacancies ranging from 41 to 76, a marked shortage of female labour has been apparent. This is due, in the main, to the establishment, during the war years, of a number of new factories, including textile, boot and shoe, and oilskin manufacturing.

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(a) Dairy and Sheep Farming.—During the period under review there has been a fairly steady demand for farm hands, particularly experienced men, both for dairy and for sheep, farms, the highest number of notified vacancies on sheep-farms being 19 at 31st January, 1946, and for dairy farms 17 at 30th November, 1945. Inquiries from married men for farm positions carrying suitable accommodation have been fairly numerous. In most cases vacancies providing married accommodation have consequently been quickly filled. Vacancies for single men on both sheep and dairy farms have not been so readily filled. Towards the end of the period limited inquiries for country work such as scrub-cutting were being received. (b) Building Industry.—Notified vacancies (almost entirely for skilled tradesmen, particularly carpenters) have been gradually rising, and at 31st March, 1946, stood at 40. (c) Railways (including Workshops).—All unskilled vacancies had been satisfied before 31st March, 1946, at which date there remained 15 notified vacancies for skilled men. (d) Seasonal Industries. —The demands of these industries (freezing-works, wool-stores, shearing, and dairy faetc>ries) were met with little difficulty. (e) Female Labour. —The most consistent shortage of female labour occurred in hotels and restaurants. The peak of notified vacancies, 30, was reached at 15th January, 1946, but this has subsequently declined to 15 at 31st March, 1946. The notified vacancies in hospitals have remained fairly steady with 12 notified vacancies remaining unsatisfied at 31st March, 1946. Shortages of female labour have also been evident in several other industries, particularly in woollen-mills and clothing and boot and shoe factories. (/) Returned Servicemen. —-Placement of ex-servicemen has proceeded very satisfactorily during the period under review, though it has at times been necessary to offer men temporary work pending an opportunity of placing them in employment of a more suitable nature. In the majority of cases the men have returned to their pre-war service employment. At 31st March, 1946, there were no returned servicemen registered for employment. Palmerston North District 465. The ratio between the number of vacancies for men notified and the numbers of men disengaged and seeking employment through the Department has, on average over the period,.been approximately 7 to 1, and the employment position has remained buoyant. This has been particularly so during the period of seasonal employment. No difficulties have been experienced by skilled men in finding suitable employment, while there has been ample work offering for fit unskilled men. In common with the position in a number of other districts, difficulty has, however, at times been experienced in locating work suited to semi-fit unskilled men able to undertake work of only a light nature. 466. With never more than one woman registered as seeking employment at any one time as compared with notified vacancies ranging from 142 to 272, a marked shortage of female labour has been apparent. Generally speaking, there have been comparatively few females inquiring for work, while advertisements by individual firms for female labour have brought forth little or no response. (a) Farming.—A fairly steady demand for farm hands was shown by both sheep and dairy farms throughout the period up to the end of 1945, when an easing off became apparent due to the decline in production resulting from drought conditions. Most of the demands received were for youths or single men, whereas the great proportion of inquiries for work of this sort (largely from ex-servicemen) were for farm work offering married accommodation. Lack of suitable accommodation thus prevented many inquirers from being satisfied. Difficulty was also experienced in obtaining sufficient shearers and shed hands to satisfy all vacancies. (b) Building Industry.—With all available men in this industry fully employed, and despite the shortage of raw materials and house fittings, a fairly heavy demand for carpenters and allied tradesmen remained throughout the whole period, due to the large number of houses under construction. If more matexials were available a considerable number of skilled tradesmen could still be absorbed in this industry. (c) Engineering Industry.—With plenty of work on hand most of the engineering establishments in the district were handicapped by a shortage of skilled men, despite the absorption of skilled men released from the Armed Forces. (d) Dairy Factories. —The seasonal labour demands of butter and cheese factories were fully met during the season, and when reductions were made with the decline of seasonal production no difficulties were experienced by the men concerned in obtaining employment locally, principally on farms.

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(e) Freezing-worlcs.—The opening of the freezing-works season in late November brought heavy ■demands for fit unskilled labour at the Longburn and Feilding works, and some difficulties arose in obtaining sufficient men, particularly at the Feilding works. Though a few more men could have been absorbed, nevertheless both works were able to achieve record killings, and activity was still being maintained at the end of March. No particular difficulty is anticipated in suitably placing the majority of the men elsewhere in industry upon termination of their seasonal employment. (/) Female Labour.—Hotels and restaurants have been very short of staff, with a peak unsatisfied demand of 72 at 15th January, 1946, though by 31st March, 1946, the vacancies had fallen off to 32. Hospitals have also been short of domestic staff during the period. The peak number of notified vacancies was 39 at 31st January, 1946, falling to 27 at 31st March, 1946. The number of unsatisfied vacancies on record in clothing-factories was 20 on 31st December, 1945, but had risen to 77 by 31st March, 1946. Part of this increase was due to loss of staff following the raising of the declaration of essentiality from clothing-factories. Apart from the possible absorption of male labour, there appears to be little possibility of reducing the over-all shortage. A similar shortage of female labour occurred in the knitting-mills, with unsatisfied vacancies rising from 9 on 30th September, 1945, to 34 on 31st March, 1946. (g) Returned Servicemen.—No particular difficulties have been experienced in placing ex-servicemen, especially the fit men, whether skilled or unskilled. In the case of semi-fit men (few in number) it has not always been easy to locate suitable work. Masterton District 467. As in other districts, the employment position has been buoyant during the period, with available vacancies for males exceeding, on an average, the numbers of disengaged men by approximately 7to 1. Opportunities of employment offering over the last three months of the period under review (other than seasonal work) have, however, been more limited. With the majority of vacancies offering in the district being seasonal vacancies on farms and in dairy factories and freezing-works, some difficulty is anticipated in finding between-season employment for a limited number of seasonal workers. As in most other districts, it has been difficult to find suitable employment for semi-fit persons. 468. There has been no female labour unemployed. A shortage of female labour has not been very marked. This is largely due to the comparatively limited manufacturing industries established in this district, and, in point of fact, no fresh vacancies for female labour in any industry had been notified during the last three months of the period. (а) Farming.—There was a fairly steady demand for farm workers up to the end of December, 1945, after which there was a marked decline in the number of vacancies offering, particularly on dairy-farms, where the vacancies fell away to nil with the falling-off of milk-supplies due to the abnormally dry season. The main demands were for single men, with their own dogs, as shepherds, and for scrub-cutters, of whom a considerable number were required. (б) Freezing-worlcs.—The staffing of the Waingawa freezing-works for the 1945-46 season presented some difficulties. The drought brought the season to a peak quickly while some key workers were still out shearing, so that the works remained somewhat short staffed for a period. Nevertheless, they were able to carry on satisfactorily. Continuation of the abnormally heavy killing season well beyond the usual period of peak activity necessitated the working of considerable overtime, as the unusually heavy demands for labour could not be fully satisfied. (c) Dairy Factories.—The staffing requirements were substantially met in all factories, though the general shortage of male labour in this district during the seasonal period required the majority of factories to work a forty-eight-hour week until the peak of activity was passed, when a forty-hour week was reverted to. (d) Returned Servicemen.—The placement of ex-servicemen has been proceeding most satisfactorily, and at 31st March, 1946, there were no returned servicemen enrolled as seeking employment. Lower Hutt District 469. This district, and the neighbouring district of Wellington, is suffering from one -of the most acute labour shortages in the Dominion. Notified vacancies for males exceed, on an average, the numbers of disengaged persons seeking employment by approximately 313 to 1. Those registering for work, whether skilled or unskilled, have been referred immediately to employment. Even the placement of semi-fit men has presented comparatively few difficulties. Due to the exceptionally rapid development of industrial activity during the past ten years, combined with the proposed establishment of a number

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of new industries, opportunities of employment are almost unlimited, and a most acute shortage of male labour has been apparent. Consequently the staffing of any new workslikely to commence must be a difficult problem and can only be achieved at the expense of other industrial activities under conditions of exceptionally keen competition for labour. The cancellation of war contracts, the change-over from wartime to peacetime production, and the laying-off of about 50 men in the motor-assembly plants provided a small measure of relief, but so great is the absorptive capacity of industry in this area that the overall position was hardly affected thereby. The key to the solution of adequate staffing of industry in the district is accommodation, and until sufficient houses, &c., can be provided to meet the needs of the Hutt Yalley (and to some extent those of Wellington) comparatively little inflow of labour from other districts can be expected. 470. The female labour position is much the same as in the case of males, with a very marked shortage of labour, evident in a wide range of industrial undertakings and little prospect of the position being relieved to any extent for some considerable time. Notified vacancies (356 at 30th September, 1945) rose to a peak of 615 at 31st Jauuary, 1946. Since then there has been a slight fall to 584 on 31st March, 1946, but not sufficient to ease the position materially. (a) Building Industry.—The main problem is the all-round shortage of labour, particularly of skilled tradesmen of all classes, but also of unskilled workers. This is reflected in the number of notified vacancies, which stood at 343 on 31st March, 1946. There were approximately 3 vacanciesfor skilled men for every unskilled vacancy. Though the supply of materials (particularly of timber) has been somewhat sporadic, the industry has managed to carry on fairly effectively and could increase, its output if more labour (particularly skilled labour) was available. (b) Railway Workshops and General Engineering.—The labour position at the Railway Workshopshas shown some marked fluctuations during-the period, with notified vacancies at 15th October, 1945,. standing at 393, falling to 242 at 15th November, 1945, at which level it remained fairly constant until February, 1946, when a steep increase to 473 was shown, including 280 for skilled men. Outside competition has drawn labour away from the workshops, and this has partly accounted for the rise in vacancies. The prospects of materially relieving the position from local sources are not good. Shortages of labour in general engineering, apart from the Railway Workshops, have been steadily increasing, as shown by notified vacancies of 30 at 30th September, 1945, as compared with 72 at 31st March, 1946. Of the latter, 8 were for skilled men, 55 for unskilled men, and 9 for juveniles. (c) Local Authorities.—There has been steady demand (mainly for unskilled labour) by local bodies in this area, although notified vacancies (64 at 15th October, 1945) fell off slightly to 50 at 31st March, 1946. (d) Freezing Industry.—The seasonal requirements of the freezing-works for approximately 450 men presented some difficulties, and was met only by some loss of labour from other industries of lower priority. The provision of seasonal labour in this area will present a difficult problem next season, when no man-power control measures will be available. (e) Boot and Shoe Industry.—This industry has experienced an acute shortage of labour, with notified female vacancies rising from 15 at 30th September, 1945. to 116 on 31st March, 1946 (80 skilled and 36 unskilled). (/) Hospitals.—A fluctuating position has been shown at the Hutt and Silverstream Hospitals. At 31st October, 1945, there were no notified vacancies ; at 31st December, 1945, there were 44, at 31st January, 1946, the number had fallen to 18, but climbed to 40 at 28th February, 1946 ; at 31st March, 1946, it stood at 36. The letting of a cleaning contract for the Hutt Hospital from Ist March, 1946, accounted for a small reduction in the number of notified vacancies. Other industries reflect much the same labour shortage. Soap and candle works showed 65 vacancies at 31st March, 1946, as against 45 on 30th September, 1945 ; the woollen-mills showed 60, as against 47 ; laundries 25, as against 12, but with a decrease from 42 in February; biscuit and confectionery manufacture 30, as against 25 ; and so on—all these figures emphasize the scarcity of labour in the area Any further expansion of industry in this area should obviously follow and not precede a solution of present accommodation difficulties. (g) Returned Servicemen. —Under the circumstances noted above, it is not surprising that theplacement of returned servicemen has presented no difficulties, nor are any difficulties in this direction anticipated. Wellington District 471. This district is in much the same position as Lower Hutt. Notified vacancies for males have exceeded on an average the numbers of persons seeking employment by approximately 421 to 1 over the period. In general, no difficulties have been presented in finding employment for all seeking it, whether skilled or unskilled, although in some cases those seeking clerical work or employment as drivers, salesmen, or

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travellers have been a little more difficult to place suitably. Nevertheless, the highest number of males registered at any one time as disengaged was only 4, as compared with the highest number of notified vacancies for males at any one time standing at 1,323. The position regarding female labour is similarly acute. A steep rise occurred in notified vacancies from 657 at 30th September, 1945 to 1,325 at 31st October, 1945, since when the figure has risen steadily to 1,675 at 31st March, 1946. The remarks made in the opening paragraph for Lower Hutt district apply equally to the Wellington district. (a) Building Industry.—Lack of skilled tradesmen of all kinds, and to a lesser degree builders' labourers, is recorded. Despite shortages of building materials, demands for labour have been increasing over the period. At 30th September, 1945, notified vacancies were 170, which rose fairly gradually to 243 at 31st March, 1946. with the proportion of skilled to unskilled vacancies at approximately 4 to 1. Lack of journeymen has restricted the absorption of more apprentices and trainees. (b) Engineering Industry.—Shortages in this industry are evidenced by the steadily increasing numbers of vacancies for males, which rose from 144 at 30th September, 1945, to 233 at 31st March, 1946 (120 for skilled tradesmen, 75 for unskilled men, and 38 for juveniles), while vacancies for females at 31st March, 1946, were 41. These vacancies are fairly well distributed over the various firms in the district. The shortage of labourers in this industry has resulted in some unbalance between skilled and unskilled workers, and has at times necessitated skilled tradesmen being required to perform unskilled work. (c) Government Departments.—Shortages have been fairly marked, both for males and females. For males, at 30th September, 1945, notified vacancies were 67, and at 31st March, 1946, were 118, with a minimum of 54 and a maximum of 139 notified during the period. For females, at 30th September, 1945, notified vacancies were 232, rising to a peak of 376 at 15th December, 1945, and falling off to 211 at 31st March, 1946. The vacancies for males in Government Departments provide practically the only employment offering for male clerical workers. Shorthand-typists and typists are the most urgently required female workers. (d) Clothing Trade. —One of the most acute shortages of female labour exists in the clothingfactories. Notified vacancies, which at 30th September, 1945, were only 86, rose steeply to 299 at 31st October, 1945, since when a further rise has been shown to 381 at 31st March, 1946. Of the 381 vacancies, 180 were for skilled labour, 3 for unskilled, and 198 for juveniles. (e) Hospitals.—A most difficult situation in hospital staffing arose at the beginning of 1946. Vacancies for females, which at 30th September, 1945, were 80, fell to 43 by 30th November, 1945, but rose to 117 on 28th February, 1946, and, with the revocation of the declaration of essentiality on 28th February, 1946, climbed steeply to 322 on 31st March, 1946. With the assistance of the Department, a campaign for staff for the Wellington Public Hospital has lately been undertaken, and it is expected that the position will improve. (Since the campaign commenced and up to the end of June, 1946, a total of 133 females had joined the Wellington Hospital Board's staff.) (/) Tramways.—ln the Wellington City Council Tramways the staffing position also reached a crisis in March, 1946, when 50 male vacancies were on record and others were known to be pending. As with the Hospital Board, the assistance of the Department was made available to the Tramways. Accommodation was provided by the Department, and considerable numbers of workers were coming forward from other districts to fill the existing vacancies. (To the end of June, 1946, 80 conductors and 38 other men had been secured,.) (g) Printing and Publishing Trade.—Vacancies for females, which at 15th October, 1945, were 84, have remained fairly constant, being 92 at 31st March, 1946, though a temporary rise to 121 occurred in December, 1945. For males, vacancies have risen from 9at 15th October, 1945, to 37 at 31st March, 1946. The demand is spread over the trade throughout the district, though the most significant group of vacancies is in the Government Printing Office. (h) Retail Trade.—Vacancies for males, 45 on 15th October, 1945, rose to 93 by 28th February, 1946, and fell to 73 by 31st March, 1946. For females vacancies, which on 15th October, 1945, were 82, remained about the same to 15th February, 1946, but have since fallen to 53 on 31st March, 1946. These figures would indicate that this industry appears to be in the almost unique position of having very substantially reduced its labour shortage. (i) Other Industries. —Over other industries the shortage of labour is similarly evident—e.g., furniture-manufacture showed 78 vacancies for males (72 skilled) at 31st March, 1946 ; hotels and restaurants showed 114 vacancies for females on the same date; banks and insurance companies, 53 vacancies for females ; Post and Telegraph Department, 68 vacancies for males, &c. In general, all show a gradually increasing number of vacancies notified, both male and female, skilled and unskilled, and consequently a greater abundance of opportunities for employment offering in this district, with little prospect of the demands of industry being met. Accommodation difficulties present one of the main keys to the solution of the problem, and until these have been fully met the shortages must inevitably remain. (j) Returned Servicemen.—With no ex-servicemen registered as seeking employment through this Department at 31st March, 1946, a most satisfactory position is shown, and no difficulties whatever have been encountered in placing all ex-servicemen reporting for assistance.

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Blenheim District 472. Notified vacancies for males have exceeded, on an average, the numbers of those disengaged and seeking employment through the Department by approximately 36 to 1 over the period, and few difficulties have been encountered in satisfactorily placing in employment any disengaged male labour registering with the Department In the case of females there has been no unemployment. On the other hand, the shortage of female labour is evidenced by the fact that notified vacancies, with a maximum of 80 and a minimum of 40, averaged 62 as unsatisfied during the period. This shortage has no doubt been influenced by the comparatively recent opening up in this centre of 4 new factories employing approximately 60 women. (a) Farming and Orchards.—Notified vacancies for all classes of farming work have been limited the maximum being 18 at 15th October, 1945 (mainly on sheep-farms). At 31st January, 1946, these had fallen away to 2 only, and consequently it may be assumed that farmers in this district are satisfactorily supplied with ample permanent labour. There were ample volunteers for harvesting work, but only very limited demands were received for this class of labour. Limited demands for apple-pickers were received commencing in February, and, although there still remained a very few demands outstanding by the end of March, the harvesting of the apple crop was proceeding satisfactorily at this stage. (b) Freezing-works.—The Picton works were fully manned, with no difficulties appearing. Activities were fully maintained up to end of March, though limited releases from then on were to be expected. (c) Hospitals.—On 30th November, 1945, the hospitals were fully staffed and, as a result, in a better position than at any time during the previous four years. By 28th February, 1946, however, there were 19 notified vacancies, and with the revocation of the declaration of essentiality a difficult situation arose from defections of both domestic and nursing staffs. As a result, notified vacancies rose to 45 on 31st March, 1946, at which date the hospitals were being maintained only with the aid of volunteer workers. (d) Other Industries. —In other industries shortages have not been acute. At 31st March, 1946, there were 11 vacancies for males in the building industry, 9 for surfacemen with the Railways, and 10 for females in clothing-factories. Notified vacancies for female staff in hotels and various guesthouses remained at about 10 over the summer period. (e) Returned Servicemen.—Generally most ex-servicemen have returned to their pre-service occupations, and for the most part no great desire to enter new fields of employment has been apparent. At 31st March, 1946, no ex-servicemen were registered as disengaged and seeking employment. Nelson District 473. For each disengaged male seeking employment through the Department during the period there were, on average, 4 vacancies notified, although in the last three months, particularly in the city area, opportunities of permanent employment offering even for fully-fit men (except for tradesmen) have been limited, vacancies notified fluctuating between 20 and 30 only in January, February, and March. Nevertheless, the employment position remained fairly satisfactory, due to the wide range of seasonal work then available, the comparatively few men enrolled for employment being confined to semi-fit men. No females were registered as unemployed, and there has been an average of approximately 50 notified vacancies, mainly in the mental hospital, hotels, and restaurants. Each season this district, which offers a wide range of seasonal activity and has a pleasant climate, attracts large numbers of male and female workers from other parts of New Zealand. (a) Farming.—There have been few notified vacancies from farmers since November, 1945, and the majority were in outlying districts and lacked suitable accommodation for married men. Forty returned servicemen were satisfactorily placed as trainees on small farms in the district. (b) Building Industry.—Notified vacancies for tradesmen (particularly carpenters) ranged from 10 in October last to 17 in March, 1946. There has been much building activity, and shortages of supplies have been of temporary duration only. (c) Sawmilling and Forestry Industries. —Notified vacancies in the sawmilling industry, which at 30th September, 1945, were 15, were reduced by March, 1946, to nil, due mainly to increased accommodation facilities having been provided. Vacancies with the Forestry Department under baching conditions have been largely filled. (d) Hospitals.—The overall notified vacancies rose from 22 at 30th September, 1945, to 36 at 31st March, 1946, 32 vacancies being in the mental hospital. Recruitments to the hospital have been insufficient to balance the wastages due to marriages.

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(e) Hotels.—Vacancies in hotels have fluctuated somewhat during the period, though at 30th September, 1945, there were 12 notified and at 31st March, 1946, 15, with a maximum on 15th February, 1946, of 22. (/) Seasonal Activities.-—Raspberry and hop pickings work with tobacco-growers and in orchards {picking of apples, peaches, pears, &c.), each in turn resulted in demands for labour, both male and female, which were satisfactorily met, largely through volunteer labour from the Nelson district, as well as from other parts of New Zealand. The seasonal activity also included work in packing and grading sheds, the jam and canning factory, the transport and handling of the crop, and, from March onwards, work in the Internal Marketing Department's dehydration factory at Motueka. Altogether, a wide range of opportunities was thus presented. Seasonal work in the local freezingworks and wool-stores,, involving only limited calls for men, did not occasion any difficulties. No demands for dairy-factory workers were forthcoming. (g) Returned Servicemen.—Placement of ex-servicemen has proceeded satisfactorily, a pleasing feature being the high percentage of placements secured in permanent positions or in positions offering good prospects of becoming permanent, although concentrated efforts were necessary at times to locate suitable positions. Absence of work of a clerical nature or on farms offering suitable accommodation for married men gave difficulties in individual cases. Westport District 474. Notified vacancies for males exceeded the number of disengaged fit men seeking employment through the Department on average by 14 to 1 during the period. There is no purely seasonal employment in the district, and notified vacancies showed a steady rise from 32 in November, 1945, to 67 in March, 1946. The vacancies are, however, principally in the coal-mining and - sawmilling industries, which- call for fit men, and opportunities for men who are fit for light work only are very limited. 475. No females have been registered as unemployed, while demands for female labour have risen from 8 in September, 1945, to 24 in March, 1946, principally for the hospitals, hotels, and restaurants. (a) Coal-mining Industry.—Notified vacancies which at 15th October, 1945, were 15, have been steadily on the increase to 38 on 31st March, 1946 (mainly for truckers and, to a limited extent, for shiftmen). In at least one mine, miners have had to be taken off the coal-face and placed on trucking duties, with an inevitable drop in coal-production. Sustained efforts have been made to fill as many of the vacancies as possible, but this has proved difficult as the work is most strenuous, calling for men in first-class physical condition. Few are attracted from other districts, and only limited numbers from local sources become available to the industry. At the same time a number of men have left the mines for health reasons. The most serious shortages have occurred at the Denniston and Millerton Collieries, although a limited number of local youths have been absorbed. Lack of local accommodation, even for single men, combined with transport difficulties from Westport, have been retarding factors. (b) Sawmilling Industry.—Shortages of experienced men (particularly bushmen and tailers-out) have remained fairly steady at Approximately sixteen, which is the number of notified vacancies at 31st March, 1946. (c) Flax (Phormium Tenax) Milling.—There has been a shortage of flax-cutters, and it has been difficult to ensure a continuous supply of leaf for processing at the State flaxmill. The prolonged spells of wet weather experienced in the district makes the contract flax-cutters' livelihood somewhat precarious. (d) Hospitals and Hotels. —The various institutions of th.e Buller Hospital have suffered the most noticeable shortages of female labour; peak notified vacancies occurred on 30th November, 1945 (12), since when the position has remained fairly constant, and at 31st March, 1946, vacancies were 10 (3 trained maternity nurses, 3 probationers, and 4 domestic staff). Hotels have also experienced shortages, though overall vacancies notified have not been high (9 at 31st March, 1946). (e) Hosiery-factory.—lt is pleasing to record the establishment of a branch of a Christchurch firm for the manufacture of half-hose. This factory has filled a long-felt need in Westport, where employment opportunities for girls have been limited. (/) Limestone Deposits at Cajpe Foulwind.—The possibilities of exploiting the large deposits of high-grade limestone and marl in this area for the purpose of establishing a cement-works are at present being investigated. Should this become a reality, it would open up further avenues of employment for workers in the Buller district. (g) Returned Servicemen. —The suitable placement of ex-servicemen enrolling for employment has proceeded satisfactorily, and all except 2, whose cases were both under action, had been placed at 31st March, 1946.

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Greymouth District 476. During the period the number of vacancies notified to the Department was approximately sixteen times as many as the number of men seeking employment. The bulk of notified vacancies are in the coal-mining and bush-sawmilling industries, which offer approximately three-quarters of all opportunities, while the majority of the remaining vacancies arise with the New Zealand Railways, gold-mining, and building and construction (road works and housing) industries. Thus opportunities offering in lighter forms of work occur only rarely, and it is sometines difficult to locate suitable employment for those unfortunately able to perform work of a very light nature only. 477. The maximum number of females registered at any one time for employment was 3, and at 31st March, 1946, there were nil, whereas notified vacancies have averaged approximately 68. Notified vacancies, which at 30th September, 1945 were 81, have been steadily declining, until at 31st March, 1946 they were 49. (a) Coal-mining Industry.—Notified vacancies have remained constant during the period at approximately 60, of which 40 were for hewers, mainly in the five State mines. Each of the State mines is prepared to absorb 5 or 6 men, who need not necessarily have had previous coal-mine ■experience. Accommodation, however, is a limiting factor. (b) Sawmilling Industry.—Notified vacancies have remained constant in the vicinity of 100, though at 31st March, 1946, the number notified was 90, the most urgent demands being for skilled bush-felling employees. The demand for unskilled workers requiring a period of training or for those who do not measure up to the required standard of physical fitness is very limited. Young men are not now entering the bush in sufficient numbers to replace older workers or men who, through physical ailments, are leaving the industry. Lack of available accommodation, isolation, and social amenities are also hindering factors. (c) New Zealand Railways.—Though the position eased somewhat, due to the return to their pre-service employment of a number of ex-servicemen, vacancies still exist for surfacemen on a number of sectors of the permanent-way and for skilled tradesmen (particularly fitters, painters, ■carpenters, and plumbers). (d) Gold-mining Industry.—Limited vacancies only have occurred, those notified failing away to none at one stage, though standing at 10 on 31st March, 1946, mainly for quartz-miners. (e) Farming.—Only limited numbers of vacancies have been notified, falling to nil on 31st March, 1946, though on dairy-farms a peak of 12 occurred on loth December, 1945, and on sheep-farms, 7, on 31st March, 1945. (/) Building and Allied Trades.—Carpenters and allied tradesmen have been fully employed, and, although vacancies rose to 13 on 15th November, 1945, these have now dropped away to nil at 31st March, 1946. (g) Hospitals.—The most marked shortage of- female labour has occurred in hospitals, particularly the Hokitika Mental Hospital. Notified vacancies (28) at 30th September, 1945, reached a peak of 36 on 30th November, 1945, with limited fluctuations since, and standing at 29 on 31st March, 1946, ■of which 18 were in the mental hospital. A limited number of females has joined the mental hospital staff, and, although the position has been held, there is still an acute shortage. (In) Hotels and Restaurants. —Notified vacancies, which at 30th September, 1945, were 33, rose to 38 on 15th December, 1945, but have since fallen away to 14 on 31st March, 1946, for cooks, housemaids, waitresses, &c. (i) New Industries.—lt is gratifying to note the commencement of a new clothing-factory at Greymouth, giving employment to a considerable number of girls, with the prospect of additional workers being required later. Also a brickworks (employing 5 males) has just recommenced after being idle for two years. (j) Returned Servicemen.—ln general, the placement of all ex-servicemen who have enrolled has proceeded satisfactorily, and although difficulties occurred in a few individual cases, the numbers enrolled were reduced to 2 only on 31st March, 1946, both of whom were satisfactorily dealt with later. Christehureh District 478. The employment situation for males has been reasonably buoyant over the period, there having been on average four notified vacancies for every one man seeking employment through the Department. The demand for skilled men has been well in excess of those enrolling, and no difficulties have occurred in placing fit men. The placement of semi-employable men, able to undertake only very light work, has, however, proved exceedingly difficult, although limited numbers of placement have been effected, and the number of such men registered for employment has been reduced from their

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peak figure of 92 at 31st January, 1946, to 75 at 31st March, 1946. The maximum number of female workers enrolled at any one time for employment was 4, whereas the notified vacancies were 929 at 30th September, 1945, 1,885 at 31st December, 1945, 1,439 at 28th February, 1946, and 1,827 at 31st March, 1946. A marked shortage of female labour has been apparent, with all-round shortages existing in a wide range of industrial and servicing activities. (a) Building Industry.—Despite shortages of materials (particularly timber, building steel, and cement) notified vacancies, which at 30th September, 1945, were 71, rose to a peak of 162 on 15th January, 1946, and then fell to 131 at 31st March, 1946 (118 for skilled, 8 for unskilled, and 5 for juveniles). The greater proportion of the demands were thus for skilled tradesmen, while the demands for builders' labourers and apprentices have been very limited. If additional tradesmen became available to this industry, there would, no doubt, be increased demands for unskilled men, though irregularity of supplies of materials at times presents difficulties. (b) Engineering Industry.—Though notified male vacancies have fluctuated to some extent, the trend over the period has been upwards—viz., from 34 at 31st September, 1945, to 62 on 31st March, 1946 (39 for skilled, 3 for unskilled, and 20 for juveniles). The main demand is thus for tradesmen, while few vacancies arise for unskilled labour other than in heavy foundry work. There were limited female vacancies (22 at 31st March, 1946), mainly for juveniles required mainly for light-metal assembly work. (c) Farming Industry.—Demands for labour (particularly for tractor-drivers and for experienced general farm hands) were fairly steady over the period, and especially so from agricultural farms, though as placements have been made in many cases the trend has been for a steadily declining balance. Overall demands for male labour from all farms which at 30th September, 1945, were 84, fell to 45 at 31st December, 1945, and to 15 at 31st March, 1946. Vacancies for married couples offering suitable accommodation, or for inexperienced labour other than youths, have been very limited. Though there was a definite shortage of both blade and machine shearers during the period of this seasonal work (October to February), especially upon the return of some of the shearers to the freezing-works, the labour demands were met with the full co-operation of the Primary Production Committees in arranging runs. Harvesting operations were completed, with only an occasional demand made for labour at any time during the season, due to the greater use of mechanical means, the return of men from the Armed Forces, and the favourable weather experienced during the harvesting season. (d) Freezing-ivorks.—No difficulties were experienced in the staffing of the various works in this district, and they were better staffed than at any time during recent years. (e) Clothing-factories.—By far the most marked shortage of female labour occurred in this industry, and, although a somewhat fluctuating demand has occurred, the trend is upwards ; as experienced operatives are not available, most demands were for unskilled persons. (Notified female vacancies, 30th September, 1945, 366; 15th November, 1945, 286 ; 15th December, 1945, 561 ; 31st January, 1946, 391, and 31st March, 1946, 673.) Demands are greatly above pre-war figures, with little prospect of the position being alleviated. Some local firms are increasing the numbers of male machinists, and should their employment prove successful it is likely that other firms will follow their example. (/) Hospitals.—Shortages of female staff remained fairly constant, though the heaviest demands occurred at 31st December, 1945 (notified female vacancies, 30th September, 1945, 189; 31st December, 1945, 228 ; and 31st March, 1946, 186). Shortages of domestic staff were most in evidence, although in the mental hospital most of the needs were for nursing staff. Despite every endeavour to improve the position (including broadcasting and newspaper publicity), the staffing position remained acute throughout the period. (g) Footwear Industry.—Steadily rising demands, mainly for female labour, have been in evidence, with notified vacancies rising from 101 at 30th September, 1945, to 169 at 31st March, 1946 (37 skilled, 94 unskilled, and 38 juveniles). The possibilities of employing male machinists have been considered, and endeavours are being made in some cases to man machines, previously operated by females, with male labour, enabling the placement of a number of semi-fit men to be effected. (h) Woollen and Knitting Mills.—Demands for female labour, which at 30th September, 1945, were 40, rose steeply by 31st October, 1945, to 134, and have since remained fairly steady, being 143 on 31st March, 1946. As experienced operatives are not available, all demands are for unskilled women and girls. (i) Hotels and Restaurants. —Shortages of domestic staff have remained constant, with notified vacancies rising from 126 at 30th September, 1945, to 179 at 15th February, 1946, and since falling to 108 at 31st March, 1946. (j) Other Industries.—Notified vacancies in some of the other industries at the end of March, 1945, were—retail shops, 28 males and 70 females ; rubber-manufacture, 51 females; printing and publishing, 50 females ; and the leather trade, 45 females. Somewhat fluctuating demands for labour

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have arisen in the fertilizer-works, depending on arrival of shipments of phosphate rock and orders received from farmers for prepared fertilizer. The closing-down at the end of December, 1945, of the Internal Marketing Department's dehydration plant, involving 122 females and 54 males, provided a temporary problem in reabsorption of the discharged labour. (k) Returned Servicemen. —No difficulties have arisen over the placement of fit skilled or unskilled ex-servicemen, and at the end of March, 1945, there were none enrolled as seeking employment. The majority have been returning to their pre-service employment. Placement of semi-fit men has presented some difficulties, but new avenues of employment in footwear and clothing factories have opened up possibilities of meeting the demands of these men satisfactorily. Ashburton District 479. The employment position lias been reasonably good, though during the months of November and December, 1945, opportunities of employment offering (just prior to the commencement of seasonal activities) were restricted. On average, during the period notified vacancies for males were three times as great as the number of men enrolled for employment. Generally speaking, it has been possible to effect placement of men registering for employment with relatively little difficulty. The locating of light work has, however, been difficult, as there was only a limited number of such positions offering. Female labour has been in short supply, with never more than two disengaged, as against an average of 33 notified vacancies, largely from the woollen mills. (а) Farming Industry.—Notified vacancies for all farming have been showing a gradually declining trend, from 30 at 30th September, 1945 to 7 at 31st March, 1946. Most demands have been for competent tractor-drivers and general farm hands, and the majority of vacancies have been satisfactorily met. When compared with the demands of the previous four years, the numbers of notified vacancies for harvesting were almost negligible, no more than an occasional demand being received. The demobilization of members of the Armed Forces, combined with the lesser area sown in wheat during the season just past and poorer crop yields, accounted for this position(б) Freezing Industry.—No difficulties arose in the filling of the demands of this seasonal industry. (c) Woollen and Knitting Mills.—This industry was the only one which experienced any marked shortages of female labour, though the position did not become worse over the period (notified vacancies at 30th September, 1945, 29 ; 30th November, 1945, 20 ; and 31st March, 1946, 30). The abnormal numbers of workers terminating their employment through marriages to ex-servicemen and the lifting of man-power controls had their effect in causing shortages in the industry. As a result a trial was made with the employment of a few males as weavers on machines formerly operated by females, and indications are that, in view of the encouraging reports on their progress, this industry will engage further males for work generally carried out by women. (d) Other Industries.—ln no other industry was there any marked shortage of labour, either male or female. For females, at 31st March, 1946, there were 5 notified vacancies in the railways. No vacancies were recorded for either hospitals or hotels and restaurants. For males, at the same date, the building industry had only 3 vacancies notified. (e) Returned Servicemen. —The placement of ex-servicemen has proceeded steadily during the period, and, although at 31st March, 1946, 2 were registered as still seeking employment, no particular difficulties were anticipated in suitably placing these or any other ex-servicemen subsequently registering with the Department. Timaru District 480. The number of notified vacancies for males was, on average, approximately equal to the number of those disengaged and seeking employment through the Department, and the employment opportunities were not so numerous as was the case in other centres. Nevertheless, although opportunities of employment offering have been comparatively limited, the numbers of those registered as disengaged dropped from 88 in October, 1945, to 15 in March, 1946. This drop in numbers coincided largely with the period of seasonal activities, although it occurred when up to a hundred or more ex-servicemen were being reabsorbed into industry each month. Some disengaged persons living in the smaller centres —e.g., Temuka, Waimate, Geraldine —who were unwilling or unable, mainly through lack of suitable accommodation, to accept employment elsewhere have not been easy to place in employment. The female labour position, on the other hand, continued to show an average of 78 notified vacancies, and never more than 3 registered as disengaged and seeking employment, and there appears little immediate prospect of relieving the position.

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(а) Farming Industry.—Most of the demands for labour came from farms engaged in mixed operations, requirements being mainly for tractor-drivers, teamsters, and general farm hands, and a limited number of juveniles. The 33 notified vacancies in September, 1945, declined to 11 in December, though, with seasonal harvesting and threshing-mills activities, the demands had risen by February, 1946, to 25 and fell to 6 at the end of March. (б) Freezing-works.—Seasonal activity commenced early in January, and the demands of the works at Paeroa and Smithfield were met without any particular difficulty and resulted in a definite improvement in the employment opportunities offering in the district, with work available to all reasonably fit men. Though a further limited number of men could have been absorbed, particularly in February and March, 1946, both works were able to cope with the stock offering with the labour available to them. (c) Linen-flax Factories at Washdyke, Fairlie, Geraldine, and Makikihi.—Demands have fluctuated with 15, the maximum number of notified vacancies. The successful search for a skilled man (obtained from another district) at one stage resulted in vacancies for 15 unskilled men, most of whom were obtained from Temuka. (d) Building Industry.—Only limited demands have been made for building operatives, with a maximum of 16 notified vacancies in February, 1946, mainly for skilled tradesmen. (e) Hotels and Restaurants.—The most consistent shortage of female labour occurred in hotels, &c. Notified vacancies, which in September, 1945, were 16, rose to 27 by December, since when there has been a gradual fall to 18 in March, 1946. The shortage of domestic staff in most hotels has involved frequent overtime work to meet the situation. (/) Woollen and Knitting Mills. —Only very limited demands were forthcoming up to the end of December, but by the end of January, 1946, notified vacancies for females had risen to 32, but had fallen to 20 by the end of March. A limited number of additional men have been engaged by the woollen-mills, principally owing to the shortage of female labour. (g) Biscuit-factory.—Demands for female labour were few, and they fell away to nil after November, 1945, but rose to 15 notified vacancies at the end of January, 1946, at which level they still remained at the end of March. A few men are now employed in the weighing, tying-up, and stacking sections, doing work previously done by girls. (h) Boot-factory.—A new boot-factory recently commenced operations at Temuka. More female labour is likely to be required as additional machinery is obtained, and limited numbers of male workers may then be required. (i) Other Industries. —Limited demands for labour have also been shown by several other industries—for example, at the end of March, 1946, motor services notified 6 vacancies for males (3 mechanics and 3 labourers); hospitals, 7 vacancies for females (5 for domestic staff); and glovefactory, 6 vacancies for juveniles. (j) Returned Servicemen. —An average of approximately 100 ex-servicemen became available each month upon discharge for employment, and the reabsorption of these men has proceeded very satisfactorily over the period. Fifteen ex-servicemen remained disengaged in March (8 fully-fit and 7 semi-fit), but no great difficulties were expected in locating employment for these men. Oamaru District 481. No difficulty lias been experienced in the placement of fit men seeking employment through the Department, and the number of such men disengaged was only a fifth of the vacancies for workers notified. On the other hand, the locating of light employment, suitable for semi-fit men, has presented difficulty. In the case of females, with no more than 2 registered as disengaged at any one time, as compared with notified vacancies which averaged approximately 70 over the period, a definite shortage of female labour has been evident. (a) Farming Industry.—There has been a fairly steady demand for general farm hands- and tractor-drivers, particularly from mixed farms. Few inquiries have been forthcoming from men seeking farm work (apart from an occasional married couple), and consequently it has been difficult to meet all demands for farm labour in the district. Towards the end of the period the demand fell from 28 in September, 1945, to 15 at the end of March, 1946. Steady demands were forthcoming during the shearing season for both blade and machine shearers. Although in some back country stations in the Kurow and Omarama areas, where blade-shearing is the practice, some runholders had to do their own shearing, the work being completed well up to customary schedule. Harvesting work, commencing about the beginning of February, occasioned considerable difficulty, with practically no suitable fulltime labour available, and the bulk of the assistance given to farmers came from volunteers for -week-ends and evening work. Threshing-mills, despite a marked reduction in the number of these operating, were also short handed, though every endeavour was made to man them. (b) Freezing Industry.—The freezing-works at Pukeuri were initially fully manned when seasonal activities commenced in early January, but as the season progressed more men could have been absorbed if they had been available. Lack of boarding accommodation presented difficulties in endeavouring to obtain men from other districts. At the end of March, 1946, when the works were at peak production, demands were for 15 additional men as slaughterhouse assistants and freezingchamber hands. The second chain at these works was manned during the season almost entirely by learners.

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(c) Building Industry.—Activity was fairly brisk in this industry, and there were moderate demands for tradesmen (carpenters, joiners, painters, and plumbers). The peak demand of 12 in January was reduced to 8 in March, 1946. (d) Wool and Grain Stores, Flourmills.—Wool-stores were fully manned during the seasonal period, but both grain-stores and flourmills had to work a fair amount of overtime to handle the season's grain satsifactorily. (e) Woollen-mills.—The most marked shortage of female labour occurred in this industry, with notified vacancies rising from 20 in September, 1945, to 40 in March, 1946 (10 for skilled, 25 for unskilled, and 5 for juveniles). The release of numbers of married women and others intending marriage, combined with the opening-up of a women's clothing-factory, were largely responsible for the shortages. The closing-down of the night shifb resulted in the termination of the services of 13 males, but alternative work was readily available to these men. (/) Other Industries employing Female Labour.—Shortages of domestic staff were also shown, and the vacancies in March were: hotels and boardinghouses 11, hospitals 4, schools 5, private homes 12, with no immediate prospects of an improvement in the position. The Railway refreshment-rooms were 12 short out of a total complement of 24, and part , of the dining-room was closed. (g) Returned Servicemen. —No difficulties whatever have been experienced in the quick placement of any ex-servicemen registering for employment, and reports for some months have shown none still remaining unplaced. Dunedin District 482. All fit men, whether skilled or unskilled, who have sought work through the Department have been readily placed. On average there have been 13 vacancies for every enrolment. Vacancies offering in localities not readily accessible have consequently proved difficult to fill. The finding of work suited to semi-fit men who, by reason of disabilities or age or ill health are unable to perform heavy manual work, has, however, been more difficult, with only limited vacancies available. An acute shortage of females has been apparent, particularly in the textile industries, with little prospect of the position being materially alleviated for some time to come. This is indicated by the fact that no more than 3 were registered at any one time as disengaged and seeking employment, as compared with notified vacancies which rose from 743 in September, 1945, to a peak of 1,519 in February, 1946, with 1,432 at the end of March, 1946. (a) Building Industry.—Demands for labour have shown a gradually rising trend, and in March, 1946, notified vacancies were 156 (137 skilled, 18 unskilled, and 1 juvenile). The needs have essentially been for skilled tradesmen (particularly carpenters), with only limited demands for builders' labourers. Although some relief has resulted from discharges from the Armed Forces, housing construction, combined with a few major building construction jobs, has kept the demand for tradesmen at a high level. Shortage of housing materials and fittings (particularly fibrous plaster) has, however, had a retarding effect on the employment opportunities offering in this industry, especially for builders' labourers. The closing-down of a brickworks during the winter months, owing to a lack of drying facilities, adversely affects the regular supply of bricks in this district. (.b) Engineering Industry.—With a full programme of work ahead, following on the change-over from wartime to peacetime production, there have been steady demands for labour, with a fairly sharp increase in the number of notified vacancies occurring in the last two months of the period, reaching 132 at the end of March (as against 57 in October), of which 66 were for skilled men, 58 for unskilled, and 8 for juveniles. The most marked shortage has been for moulders, and to a lesser degree fitters, turners, and foundry labourers, with comparatively few seeking apprenticeships. With expansions contemplated by several firms, the labour position in this industry points to the position becoming more difficult in the near future. (c) Farming Industry.—Limited demands only have been received for farm labour, rising from 8 in September, 1945, to a peak seasonal demand of 43 in November, and falling away to 13 notified vacancies for all classes of farms at the end of March, 1946. Most vacancies have been for single men or youths, as few positions have had accommodation available for married couples, though fairly continuous inquiries from men seeking permanent farm positions have been forthcoming, and satisfactory placements have been effected. Although the shearing season presented its usual' problems with runholders all seeking shearers at the same time, the work was completed within a reasonable period. For the harvesting season many volunteers were forthcoming for this work ; consequently, no difficulties were experienced in meeting the few demands received from farmers. (d) Freezing-works.—The works at Burnside and Balclutha were adequately manned, and though a limited number of unskilled men could have been absorbed no difficulties were experienced in handling all stock coming forward. 4*

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(e) New Zealand Railways.—This was the only other industry experiencing any large shortage of male-labour and having vacancies for 79 men (mostly unskilled men) at the end of March, 1946. The Signals and Maintenance Branch required men urgently for country work, but recruitment was handicapped by the shortage of accommodation available. (/) Clothing-factories.—By far the most marked shortage of female labour occurred in this industry, with notified vacancies rising from 354 in September, 1945, to 510 in March, 1946 (203 skilled, 187 unskilled, and 120 juveniles). Although vacancies for skilled operatives remain high, employers have been willing to employ any unskilled labour offering. In an effort to overcome the position some firms have been engaging a limited number of males for work previously performed by females. There is little prospect of the position improving in the immediate future, and in a number of cases, firms have been establishing branches in the smaller rural centres. The shortages have not been uniform in all factories, as those manufacturing heavy garments have suffered more serious shortages than those handling lighter fabrics, particularly for women's wear. (g) Woollen-mills. —Much the same position occurred in this industry with notified vacancies which in September, 1945, were 106, rising to 160 by March, 1946. The shortages have reduced the numbers of those engaged in this industry to below pre-war figures. As a result, there is a rising demand for male labour, and at 31st March, 1946, notified male vacancies were 40. (h) Hospitals (including Mental Hospitals and Sanatoria). —Steady demands have been in evidence over the period, rising to a peak of 146 notified vacancies in February, with a drop to 99 in March, 1946. The most serious shortages have been for nurses in the mental hospital, domestic staff in the general hospitals, and hospital aides at the Waipiata Sanatorium. (i) Hotels and Restaurants.—Notified vacancies rose from 88 in September, 1945, to 161 in February, 1946, although by the end of March vacancies had declined to 87. (j) Retail Shops.—Most demands have been for female labour, with most vacancies for juveniles. Peak female demands were 117 in February, 1946, with a fall to 87 in March, 58 of these being for juveniles. Only limited employment opportunities have been offering to males vacancies at 31st March, 1946, standing at only 19. (1c) Other Industries. —Footwear-factories have experienced a difficult period, and, in common with the textile trade, were turning, towards the end of the period, to the engagement of a limited number of male machinists. Vacancies for female labour at 31st March, 1946, stood at 40. Shortages were also shown in a number of other industries —biscuit and confectionery 57 vacancies, flock and felt 50, at the end of March. (I) Returned Servicemen. —Steady placements have been effected of the great majority of exservicemen registering as seeking employment, and, with full co-operation from employers, no great difficulties have risen in the locating of suitable employment. Vacancies offering for clerks, truckdrivers, warehousemen, shop-assistants, or for semi-fit men have been limited, but satisfactory results have been achieved. Invercargill District 483. Vacancies for male labour during the period were on average eleven times as numerous as the number of men seeking work through the Department and there has been no lack of employment opportunities except for a small number of semi-fit persons for whom it has generally been difficult to find suitable employment. No females registered for employment., and the number of vacancies for female labour averaged 102 during the period. (a) Sawmilling Industry.—The greatest shortage of male labour occurred in this industry, where there were 51 notified vacancies at the end of March, 1946, mostly for experienced men. Nevertheless, the majority of the sawmills have been manned sufficiently to enable them to carry on working, though in some cases it has been necessary for them to work on alternate days in the bush and at the mill, with a consequent loss in output. For some months defections from the numerical strength of workers in this industry on account of age, health, or other disabilities have exceeded recruitments. Lack of accommodation and other amenities for either married or single men, and, in many cases, inadequate transport facilities, have made it exceedingly difficult to obtain sufficient suitable labour to keep the mills working to full capacity. This class of work has not been attractive to many ex-servicemen who have had the requisite experience. (b) Farming Industry.—Although fairly considerable demands for labour were received, the general trend, except during the shearing season, has been for demands to decrease in number. Overall notified vacancies from all types of farms in September, 1945, were 59, in November 70, in January 12, and by the end of March only 7. Numbers of ex-servicemen upon discharge from the Armed Forces have shown preference for this class of work, and, with close attention continuously given to the labour requirements of this industry, a steady number of placements was made during the period. The advent of the wool season brought about a keen demand for blade and machine shearers. The majority of sheepowners wanted shearers at the same time, and it was not possible to meet all demands immediately, particularly those from high-country sheep-stations, where blade shearing is the normal practice. This latter problem is likely to continue each season, as the majority of recruits confine their activities to machine-shearing and not to blade-shearing.

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(c) Dairy Factories. —Some difficulty was experienced in keeping abreast with the seasonal demands of the forty-four factories in this district, particularly in the earlier part of the season. Volunteers coming forward for the cheese-factories were limited. The lack of married accommodation at or in the vicinity of the various factories has an adverse influence in the attraction of suitable married men to this class of employment. As a result, a forty-eight-hour week and even more was necessary in most factories. (d) Freezing Industry.—The freezing-works at Makarewa, Mataura, and Ocean Beach, which during the previous three seasons had made pressing demands for labour, were all reasonably satisfied with labour when they commenced operations in January. Although a limited number of additional men could have been absorbed, nevertheless these works were reported to have been able to handle record killings. Advertising for volunteer workers produced very satisfactory results. (e) Goal-mining Industry.—Only limited vacancies have been notified, with a peak figure of 10 in September, 1945, reduced to 3 in March, 1946, as a result of special efforts made to staff coal-mines. (/) Other Industries employing Male Labour. —Shortages of tradesmen of all classes have been evident in the building and allied trades, engineering, and other industries, and limited shortages in the flaxmilling, clay, and concrete products manufacturing industries and in the Railways Department, have also been notified during the period. (g) Hospitals.—A rising trend in the number of notified vacancies has been evident in the growth from 9 in September, 1945, to 59 at the end of March, 1946. Despite sustained efforts to divert all suitable female labour to the various hospital institutions, resignations from both the domestic and nursing staffs have steadily increased, especially so since the revocation of the declaration of essentiality in February, 1946. (h) Woollen-mills and Clothing-factories.—During the period under review several clothing factories have been opened in Invercargill offering employment to approximately 200 females. At the end of March, 1946 vacancies in woollen-mills stood at 30, but had fallen to nil in clothing-factories. (i) Hotels and Restaurants. &c. —Steady demands for domestic staff have been received, with maximum notified vacancies rising to 38 in February, 1946, and falling to 30 at the end of March. Requests for labour for domestic service in private homes have also been forthcoming, and there were 19 such vacancies in March. (j) Returned Servicemen. —No particular difficulties have occurred in the placement of exservicemen in suitable employment, and at 31st March, 1946, with only 1 returned serviceman enrolled, a most satisfactory position was shown. PART V.—EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION AND OUTLOOK SECTION I.—FOUNDATION INFORMATION AND MONTH-TO-MONTH STATISTICS 484. During the first two years of the war efforts were mainly concentrated on the building-up of the Armed Forces. Up to the end of 1941 no attempt had been made to control the disposition of the Dominion's labour force as between industries, although the withdrawal of men from industry for military service was governed by the system of appeals on public-interest grounds, earlier discussed. Little was known, therefore, regarding changes in the employment position in industry other than the withdrawal of men to the Armed Forces until the advent of measures of Man-power Control in January, 1942. The unexpected turn of events in the war had, by 1941, raised man-power problems which could only be met by measures of control. For the exercise of these, adequate information of the changing labour position in all important industries was fundamental. In each undertaking declared essential the labour position at the time of declaration was ascertained and this formed a basis for a continuing study of the position. In addition, the total resources of the Dominion in certain types of skill of key importance were ascertained by compulsory registration of all persons with such skills whether still practising the occupations concerned or not. A schedule of registration orders covering these particular occupations is given in Table 21 of the Appendix. 485. From 1942 onward, therefore, the Department maintained a considerable volume of current employment data covering those parts of the industrial field which were of particular wartime importance. Apart from the initial sources mentioned above, regular sources of this information were returned by District Man-power Officers as follows : (a) Number of persons directed into essential industry during the month (males and females separately) and the number of these complied with. (b) Numbers of applications for permission to terminate employment in essential industry (males and females separately), the numbers of applications granted and refused, the reasons for termination, and the type of industry to which the worker moved—i.e., whether same industry, other essential, or non-essential —which the person subsequently entered after termination.

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(c) The number of applications to engage labour in non-essential industries (males and females separately), the number granted and refused, and the numbers of those refused who were subsequently directed to other work. (d) The number of cases of industrial absenteeism reported in essential industries, the number of these which were verified, the industries affected, and the mature of the action taken. (e) The number of appeals against actions of Man-power Officers under each of the above heads, and the results of the appeals. (/) The number of vacancies (males and females separately) in essential industries as at the 15th of each month. (In 1945 this was broadened to cover all industries.) (g) Vocational Guidance Offices also co-operated with the National Service Department, and regular information was available from them through Man-power Officers regarding the type of person seeking the aid of these offices and the industries in which they were subsequently placed. 486 Information under the various headings listed above has been tabulated in successive departmental reports for the years 1943, 1944, and 1945. Figures for the year ending 31st March, 1946, together with cumulative figures for previous years, will be found in Tables 28-39 of the Appendix. SECTION lI.—SPECIAL SURVEYS (i) Need for Special Surveys 487. While the above information, together with the vast amount of supplementary detail supplied to Man-power Officers by employers seeking or contesting man-power actions, gave the Department information of a high degree of accuracy over the fields covered, occasions arose when special information had to be obtained —e.g., when it became necessary to find out within an industry how labour was distributed between different classes of production ; or when the programming of war production required special knowledge of skills available, incidence of military call-ups, &c. ; or when it became necessary to decentralize industry to centres with suitable labour resources. For such purposes various special surveys were carried out from time to time. (ii) Special Surveys prior to 31st March, 1943 488. Prior to 31st March, 1943, a number of local and some national surveys of man-power content in relation to military eligibility were made through Man-power Utilization Committees. In the engineering industry a survey was carried out for the particular purpose of ascertaining the maximum pool of labour available for ship repairs. In the main, these early surveys were designed to give a factual basis for the redistribution of man-power between the Armed Forces and industry, and between differing priorities of work within industry. 489. In addition, a survey of wage rates and trends in particular occupations throughout the Dominion was made showing comparisons between award rates, ruling rates, and the highest rates in the years 1939, 1941, and 1942. Summaries of this information are to be found in the Appendix to the report of the Department for the year ended March, 1943. 490. Surveys of the seasonal industries (freezing-works and dairy factories) were also made, showing the labour -content and requirements of these industries, and these surveys provided information which was used as a basis for providing labour to cope with the seasonal demand of the two industries, whose combined peak season labour strength each year exceeds that in the off-season by between nine and ten thousand workers. Table 48 of the Appendix shows the seasonal fluctuation of labour content of freezing-works and dairy factories. (iii) Special Surveys between Ist April, 1943, and 31st March, 1945 . 491. By the end of March, 1943, the Department was well provided with information regarding the over-all man-power position in all important industries, and its district offices had built up accurate records covering the majority of industries and even of individual units operating in their districts.

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492. Special surveys continued to be necessary each, year to measure the requirements and uptake of the season in butter and cheese factories and in freezing-works, and again to maintain an adequate correlation between the putting-off of labour at the end of the season and the diversion of that labour to other important work. Similarly, special information regarding labour requirements for shearing, harvesting, fruit-picking, tobacco-growing, and potato-digging was compiled in those districts particularly affected. 493. Towards the end of 1943 (when the need for a further comb-out of men for overseas service on the one hand and the question of the release of men from home defence to industry on the other required particularly accurate information on the manpower position in a number of industries) a unit-by-unit resurvey of the labour content of a number of industries was undertaken -to show in each case the composition and skills of the existing labour force, its liability or otherwise for overseas service, the number of staff already in the Forces, and other relevant particulars necessary for planning either the call-up of further men for military service or the redistribution to industry of men coming out of the Forces. 494. Perhaps the most extensive survey carried out during this period, however, was the detailed survey of secondary towns with populations of 2,000 and over, made with a view to obtaining some indication of the availability of labour, male and female, in such towns and the possibility of encouraging a decentralizing of industry to them. The detailed information obtained covered the following points : (а) Population within daily working reach of the town. (б) School rolls, as being an indication of the numbers of young persons annually seeking employment. (c) A description of the activities of the surrounding district, road and rail contacts, and other information relevant to securing a broad background. (d) A list of all local industries, showing the number of concerns in each category and the numbers of males and females employed and the totals of males and females employed in the town. (e) A statement showing the availability of labour, both male and female, and covering types, as well as numbers, of persons available. (/) Comments on the seasonal fluctuations in employment and other local factors bearing upon the availability of labour for new industries. This survey put the Department in a position to give the fullest possible assistance towards the establishing of industries in centres where there was reasonable prospect of securing sufficient labour. (iv) Special Surveys since Ist April, 1945 495. Secondary Towns.—Subsequent to the survey made during the previous year of secondary towns of populations of 2,000 and over a survey was made of the smaller towns with populations between 1,000 and 2,000. Particulars similar to those obtained for towns of 2,000 and more were obtained for those towns covered by this survey. These two surveys made are invaluable in helping to determine the reserve of male and female labour for expanding or declining industries, and the potential reserve available by diversion of labour. 496. Clothing Industry.—ln July, 1945, a survey was made of the labour content of the clothing-manufacturing industry through the four Man-power Utilization Committees at Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin to show the division of labour between various classes of production with a view to balancing up the labour force engaged on garments in critical supply. 497. Seasonal Industry.—A further survey of the estimated peak labour force and the unsatisfied labour requirements of butter and cheese factories and freezingworks was also made for the 1945-46 season.

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(v) Survey of Employment Prospeets 498. In the middle of last year, when progress in the war pointed to an early cessation of hostilities, it became the responsibility of the Department to review the whole field of employment from a new angle as a preparation and basis for the demobilization of large numbers from the Armed Forces and to prepare an employment budget to set out factually the employment problems involved in the transition from wartime topeacetime conditions and to enable plans to be made to meet the various problems involved in the change-over. Whereas in previous surveys the emphasis had been on minimum man-power the prospect of demobilization necessarily changed this to an emphasis on maximum man-power. 499. The Department accordingly carried out a survey of almost the whole field of employment to provide a basis for the study of the employment position in relation to the re-alignment of industrial activities in conformity with existing and post-war needs and prospects. In particular, information was desired to facilitate the placement of servicemen, the full-time employment of other persons seeking work, the possible provision of training and employment facilities, and the alignment of building and development works programmes with the employment position. The data obtained from employers showed the following: — (а) Pre-war staff. (б) Present staff. (c) The estimated outflow due to retirements, relaxation of man-power control, completion of war contracts, displacement of workers by demobilized personnel, &c. (d) Estimated inflow during the re-adjustment period. (e) Estimates of the net labour shortages after allowing for pending retirements and return of absent employees. (/) Information regarding proposed new buildings or extensions and estimated cost of thesebuildings. (vi) Survey of Employment for the coming Winter 500. Early in 1946, in order to obtain knowledge of the buoyancy of the employment situation throughout the Dominion, a report was obtained from each district giving details of the numbers of persons likely to be disengaged and seeking work as a result of demobilization or the tapering-off of seasonal work at various time points during the coming winter. A general picture was also obtained of the probable employment situation during future months, and an indication as to any works in view to absorb between season unemployment. SECTION lII.—POST-WAR EMPLOYMENT RETURNS 501. Since the cessation of hostilities problems of rehabilitation and of finding employment for persons displaced from wartime positions have increased the importance of maintaining regular and up-to-the-minute information regarding vacancies, disengaged persons, and placements. (i) Vacancies '502. Detailed information concerning notified vacancies is available at half-monthly intervals as from the 30th September, and is summarized in Table 41 of the Appendix. 503. The returns of notified vacancies show the distribution, over the various districts, of the steadily increasing demand for labour, industry by industry. They also give an indication of the comparative urgency of requirements for labour of each industry, the type of worker required, and any unbalance between skilled and unskilled workers in particular industries.

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(ii) Disengaged Persons 504. As from 30th September, 1945, a return of disengaged persons lias been furnished by District Officers at the end of each half month. This return shows the number of disengaged males and females who are enrolled at the District Employment •Offices for employment at the date of the return. The figures are classified to show for -each industry the split-up of disengaged persons according to age, fitness, duration of unemployment, whether in receipt of unemployment benefit, and whether a returned serviceman or otherwise. Tables 42 and 43 of the Appendix sets out the position regarding disengaged persons up to 31st March, 1946. (iii) Placements 505. A natural consequence of the recording of numbers of persons disengaged and seeking work and the numbers of notified vacancies in industry was the recording of "the number of placements made by the Department. Tables 44 and 45 of the Appendix .are summaries of the information available from the Ist January to the 31st March, 1946. (iv) Overall Position 506. Between the end of September, 1945, and the 31st March, 1946, the number of men enrolled for employment did not fluctuate by more than 258. The average number enrolled was 478. The civilian male working population is estimated to have averaged some 480,000 over the period, giving an average rate of unemployment of 0-1 per cent. Notwithstanding the demobilization of 74,000 men since VJ Day, the relaxation of man-power control affecting 218,000 workers and the change-over in industry to meet peacetime needs only 402 males were disengaged as at 31st March, 1946. The impact of demobilization was cushioned by many deferred retirements from industry, by a heavy wastage of female labour, and by the upward surge of seasonal activity, while the return of troops from distant war zones spread demobilization over a period •of many months' duration. Of the 478 enrolled, on an average only 318 men were seeking work for more than two weeks, and an average of 325, or 68 per cent, of the total, were semi-fit or sixty years of age and over. The average number of women enrolled ■during the period was only 26. 507. The most significant feature in regard to vacancies in industry was the •extraordinarily rapid increase in female vacancies after VJ Day, following a long period of stability in which the number of vacancies remained within approximately 1,000 of the wartime peak of 4,792 in March, 1945. By 31st March, 1946, the number of female vacancies reached 9,929, as compared with 4,314 at 31st July, 1945, just prior to the •end of hostilities. Most of these vacancies were concentrated in a few industrial groups. "Clothing and other textile industries notified 3,950, or 40 per cent, of the total; woollen and knitting mills, 550 (6 per cent.); footwear-manufacture, 646 (7 per cent.); health and social welfare, 1,245 (13 per cent.); and hotels and restaurants, 743 (8 per •cent.). Vacancies for males had not shown the same marked increase since VJ Day and were more widely distributed over the industrial field, although 1,816 (26 per cent.) were in building and construction, 816 (11 per cent.) in railways, and 817 (11 per cent.) in engineering. Increases in vacancies had occurred mainly in the four main industrial centres. At the end of the war Auckland, Wellington (including Lower Hutt), €hristchurch, and Dunedin notified 62 per cent, of the male vacancies and 82 per cent, of female vacancies. By the end of March, 1945, these proportions had increased to 73 per cent, for males and 87 per cent, for females. 508. With employment so readily available it followed that the number of placements effected by Man-power Officers would not be very large. Moreover, as the margin of absorptive capacity was much greater in respect of females, only 1,535 women were placed in industry by Man-power Officers in the first quarter of 1946, as compared

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with 5,359 men. Included in these totals, however, were many workers who could not find employment readily. In particular, the returned-servicemen category, comprising over a third of total placements, included younger men who had not previously been employed in civilian occupations and men suffering from war injuries and requiring new avenues of employment. SECTION IV.—NECESSITY FOR WIDER EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION (i) The Changing Outlook on Unemployment 509. The efficient manner in which New Zealand as a nation geared herself to wartime conditions gives encouragement for the growing belief that, with the necessary guidance, she can adapt herself with the same determination and efficiency to mitigating the anti-social effects of recurring depression conditions. 510. In the history of this country and of the great nations of the world, trade depressions have brought, periodically, all the social and economic evils arising from the inadequate use of the available resources of the world. Socially and economically, the greatest evil is the inadequate use of the available labour force. Mass unemployment in periods of depression, with a partial recovery only as the cycle swings upward, has in the past brought personal catastrophe to countless people who, without hope of new opportunities in the visible future, were deprived of their jobs. These people could realize only too well that the inadequate use of the labour force meant more than an economic loss to the nation and more than the loss of means of livelihood to those who were unemployed. It meant to the many whose period of unemployment was long, loss of hope and even loss of self-respect. 511. Realization has come of the necessity for nations to fight in time of peace against the evils of mass unemployment with the same determination as they fought against other evils during the war. The signatories of the United Nations Charter adopt full employment as a guiding principle, and success will depend upon the methods by which they strive to achieve it and the determination of their attack on the causes of depression. (ii) Full Employment under Wartime Controls 512. Experience has shown that full utilization of the nation's man-power can be obtained in times of war, but at the sacrifice of many personal liberties. The problem for peace is to achieve an equally full utilization of man-power without the same sacrifice of personal liberties. The key to the problem is the intelligent use of adequate, comprehensive, and constantly up-to-date statistical information. 513. The maintenance of full employment is a national commitment, and while industry, if assisted by the availability of reliable up-to-date information, may itself be able to achieve more stabilized employment than in the past, the final responsibility for equating demand to supply of labour must rest with the Government. It is not sufficient that there should be, on a Dominion basis, as many vacant jobs as there are unemployed workers. The balance must be qualitative as well as quantitative. As men become surplus to requirements in one activity, other work must become available to them, the new r work being — (a) Suitable to their physique and skill. (b) In a locality in which they can reasonably be expected to work. (c) Available at the right time to avoid an excessive period of standing by. (iii) The Function of Employment Information 514. Employment information must serve three main purposes. It must provide private enterprise with the information necessary to achieve on the one hand full benefit from the economies of long-range planning and appropriate location of industry, and, on the other hand, a balanced and stabilized labour force in reasonable equilibrium with other industries. It must provide information to enable Government works

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programmes to be realistically related to the general availability of labour and the overall developmental trends of the Dominion. It must also provide information to enable Government action to be taken in good time to offset any slackening in the volume of private expenditure and employment. Full employment (which can be regarded as synonymous with prosperity) depends upon the maintenance of full purchasing-power, and vice versa. 515. On the first of these points perhaps more should be said, employers (including the Government) are the only source of adequate employment information, and while the effects of the second and third points above are of greater importance to the maintenance of industrial well-being than is the first, it is, nevertheless, by the first point that the majority of private employers will seek to measure the value of employment information as being the point of most immediate and most tangible effect. It is to the obvious advantage of employers to know whether their particular industry is gaining its fair share of younger workers, whether it is losing labour unduly to other industries, whether wage movements in other industries are reacting adversely against it, whether labour shortages are being generally experienced or are peculiar to certain industries, occupations, or districts, whether the labour position in other districts is similar or different, and so on. Adequate employment information will give an accurate measure of such things; it will not merely confirm or disprove the hearsay existence of employment trends or difficulties, but will provide actual figures to show their location, spread, and magnitude. On various points, moreover, it will be possible in due course to establish standards for movements and trends for each industry (labour turnover, labour recruitments, &c.), and as these become available individual employers will be placed in the advantageous position of knowing how such movements and trends in their own businesses compare with the standards for the" industry or . district as a whole. It is equally to the advantage of both employers and parents and school-leavers to know the long-range trends as well as the current vacancies in various industries. (iv) The National Aspect of Full Employment 516. More fundamental than the remedying of individual or local industrial maladjustments is the necessity to make adequate use of the total labour force on a national basis. The Government, in achieving this, is bound to become involved in the long-run in the consideration of measures to damp down the effects of the trade cycle. Here, again, the publication of reliable information can assist industry to avoid the worst effects, though only time will show how much effective action could be taken by industry alone. It is probable that a fuller knowledge by industry would remove much of the ill-informed speculation which accentuates boom conditions and tends to cause collapse, and that it would relieve the excessive lack of confidence which takes depression conditions to so low a level. Nevertheless, industry is not likely to be able to damp down to any great extent the effects of the trade cycle. There will be a gap to be bridged, requiring Government action based on a competent application of resources in the directions indicated by employment and other economic information. Fundamentally, there must be sufficient private plus public outlay at all times to provide the driving force necessary to employ all available man-power. (v) Information to give a Full Picture of the Employment Position 517. For the purposes outlined above there must be, in addition to the existing monthly district returns covering notified vacancies, placements and disengaged persons, adequate up-to-date information to give a sufficiently complete picture of the labour force in each district and its distribution over industry. If action is to be taken sufficiently early for it to be effective in preventing long periods of unemployment, there must be a sufficiently wide range of information to enable accurate forecasts to be made. Under full employment conditions a knowledge merely of numbers employed

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at any particular date will not be sufficient. The significant factors are changes in the numbers employed and the relationship between these changes and the forces producing them. Thus, forecasting involves a full study of wage rates and other inducements and their effect upon the mobility of labour from industry to industry and from locality to locality. It involves also a knowledge of the rate of recruitment of juveniles in industry, of the rate of labour turnover within and between industries, and of other points relevant to the changing employment position. SECTION V.—THE EMPLOYMENT ACT, 1945 518. The acceptance of full employment as a standard for the New Zealand economy, and the determination of the Government to make it effective, necessitated the creation of administrative machinery to carry out the collection and study of employment data, to maintain the various activities directly associated with promoting and maintaining full employment, and to provide the information necessary for the wider application of the full-employment concept through other fields of action. 519. In November, 1945, the Employment Act, 1945, was passed to establish a National Employment Service under the control of the Minister of Employment, for the principal purpose of promoting and maintaining full employment. In amplification of the functions of the Department, the Act provides that the National Employment Service shall — (a) Provide a complete employment service for the purpose of placing workers in employment,, assisting jemployers to secure labour, assisting employers to provide employment, assisting persons in all sections of the community to find better or more suitable employment (whether in professional, technical, supervisory, or any other capacities), and assisting persons who require occupational readjustment or training or other assistance to enable them to continue or resume full-time employment. (b) Make surveys and forecasts of the classes of employment from time to time required or available or likely to be required or available, whether in industry or otherwise, and do all things deemed necessary or expedient for the purpose of placing suitable and qualified persons in such employment on a voluntary basis. (c) Generally do all things deemed necessary or expedient for the purpose of promoting and maintaining full employment, whether by facilitating the better location or availability of employment in relation to the labour available or otherwise howsoever. In particular, the Department is expressly given authority to (a) Establish, maintain, and operate hostels and other residential or boarding establishments for workers. (b) Provide a home-aid service, by making the services of workers employed in the Department available for domestic and other work in cases of emergency and in other special circumstances. 520. The Act makes provision also for the appointment of as many Advisory Councils and Advisory Committees as the Minister thinks necessary for the purpose of assisting in the administration of the Act. 521. Power is given to make such regulations as may be necessary in giving full effect to the Act, including regulations for the purpose of — Obtaining any information or particulars that may be required for the purposes of this Act, whether in relation to labour requirements or retrenchments, movements of labour, subsidies, or otherwise. SECTION VI.—THE EMPLOYMENT (INFORMATION) REGULATIONS 1946 522. Pursuant to the Employment Act, 1945, the Employment (Information) Kegulations were made on the 13th March, 1946. These required the half-yearly return of information (specified in schedules appended to the regulations) by employers in general industries and in the building and construction industry in all cases where two or more workers are employed (inclusive of working proprietors) and the monthly return of information by employers in seasonal industries. The half-yearly returns cover a period of six months, ending on the 15th April or the 15th October in any year, while the monthly returns cover a period ending on the 15th of each month.

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523. The information in these returns will fall broadly under the following main headings : Monthly pay-roll strength. Wages pay-out for one week in each month. Particulars of labour content by juveniles and adults and by skills. Particulars of labour inflows and vacancies. Employers comments and forecasts. While the above information is required regularly from employers in the classes specified, power is given to the Director of Employment to require any or all employers at any time to furnish such information as he considers necessary in relation to the following matters : (а) The numbers and classes of workers engaged or likely to be engaged by the employer during any specified period or periods or on any specified date or dates. (б) The numbers and classes of workers whose employment has been terminated or is likely to be terminated during any specified period or periods or on any specified date or dates. (c) The numbers and classes of workers in the employment of the employer during any specified period or periods or on any specified date or dates. (d) The amount of wages (including or showing separately overtime, bonus, and other payments) paid by the employer during any specified period or periods. (e) The accommodation or transport of workers. (/) The nature and availability of employment. 524. In the special case where the information required by the Director concerns any subsidy or other moneys paid by the Crown to any employer or other persons for the purposes of the Act, he is given the further power to conduct an audit. 525. Certain industries, particularly farming, do not lend themselves to the type of return provided for general industries, building and construction, and seasonal industries, and in respect of industries not thus specifically covered by half-yearly or monthly returns alternative means of obtaining the necessary employment information will be adopted. In the case of farming employment, information was formerly included on the annual returns made to the Government Statistician, and steps are in train to have this information reinstated. SECTION VII.—ESTABLISHMENT OF A NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT SERVICE 526. In accordance with the requirements of the Employment Act, 1945, the National Employment Service was set up to commence its activities on Ist April, 1946. 527. Prior to that date the National Service Department had already undertaken much of the preliminary work in preparing the field for the new Department. While the wartime administration had almost reached the end of its activities it had built up an administrative framework which in two respects could be adapted with value. In the first place, it had well-established district offices with staff possessed of excellent industrial contacts, and already largely reoriented to the work of voluntary placement in connection with ex-servicemen. Subject to a number of necessary changes and adjustments in personnel, a sound framework of district organization therefore existed and was rapidly being converted to the' new basis and outlook required. In the second place, the National Service Department had already built up comprehensive information on industries in all its districts, and on the statistical and research side already had a nucleus of staff familiar with the labour problems, position, and background of New Zealand industries. Here again there were useful foundations which could with advantage be used for the new administration. The new Department would, however, require a smaller staff, and to some extent a staff with different qualifications. By Ist April staffing readjustments had been largely completed, staff-training measures had been formulated, and the National Employment Service was ready to take up the new activities, operating through a Head Office under a Director of Employment and with twenty-five district offices, each controlled by a District Employment Officer.

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SECTION VIII.—FULL EMPLOYMENT IN PROSPECT 528. In his report on " Full Employment in a Free Society," Sir William Beveridge draws a comparison between the state of full employment obtainable under pressure of war conditions and the recurrences of mass unemployment in times of peace. By drawing fully upon the experiences of war and peace, he sets as a standard for the future the continuous employment at all times of at least 97 per cent, of the labour force. 529. In New Zealand at the outbreak of war 96-3 per cent, of the male labour force was in full-time employment, the balance of 3-7 per cent, being on unemployment benefit or in subsidized work. During the first few years of war the numbers unemployed fell from some 19,000 to under 1,000, or less than 0-1 per cent, of the total male labour force, and this low level has been maintained. New Zealand's pre-war level of employment coupled with wartime achievements in reducing unemployment suggest that Sir William Beveridge's figure of 97 per cent, in employment, based on British experience, should be well within practical reach in New Zealand given an adequate use of resources and instruments for offsetting the effects of the trade cycle. We can face the future knowing that—(a) Full employment in New Zealand was almost reached in pre-war years; has been more than achieved during the war; and has been well maintained into the first stage of the transition period from war to peace. (b) The signatories to the United Nations Charter have accepted full employment, and to the extent that they are successful in achieving it world conditions will be stabilized and New Zealand's task will be made easier. 530. At 31st March, 1946, there were 24,000 males in the Armed Services and a civilian labour force of some 500,000, of whom 517 were on unemployment benefit or in subsidized work. Thus, of 524,000 males available to the Armed Services and to industry just over o*l per cent, were unemployed. There were at that date 7,106 known unsatisfied vacancies for males even in the presence of continuing limitations on the absorption of labour due to shortages of materials. Thus, even in the unlikely event of a rapid return of the Armed Services to pre-war strength without further expansion of industry, the number in employment would exceed the 97 per cent, quoted as a standard for full employment. Actually, it appears likely that the strengths of the Services will not be reduced to a peacetime level for some time, the removal of bottlenecks in supplies will slowly progress, and the tendency of industry is for further expansion, so that the prospects for maintained full employment appear encouraging. 531. In other countries employment is not, however, at so high a level. The percentages of males and females unemployed in Great Britain in March, 1946, were approximately 2 per cent, of the male working population and 2*4 per cent, of the female working population respectively, the percentage being steady for females, but rising for males. In the United States of America in February, 1946, the male figure was about 5-6 per cent, and rising, with females fairly steady at approximately 3 per cent. 532. Despite the nominal adherence to full-employment policies by the United Nations, there is no real reason to believe that the causes of fluctuating world prosperity in the past have as yet been removed. Should other countries, particularly Britain, be unable to hold to their full-employment policies, the effect on New Zealand exports would be likely to cause difficulties in the maintenance of full employment in New Zealand. There are, however, two favourable aspects : —- (a) The earnest attempt by larger nations to achieve full employment, even if not fully successful, is likely to assist in reducing the intensity of possible future depressions. (b) Within Nejv Zealand arrears of public works, plus the scope for future development, together with the greater measure of balance between internal and external markets and improvements in the machinery for equating supply and demand, provide resources which can be harnessed to the task of offsetting any downward movement in the trade cycle. 533. The period favourable to full employment through which we are now passing must then be regarded as a period of respite in which the groundwork can be prepared to ensure that the advantages gained can be held under possibly less-favourable conditions

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in the future. It may not be difficult to keep a buoyant employment position in New Zealand in times of world prosperity. It will be more difficult to maintain that advantage in a world-wide depression. One of the first essentials is a constant and careful watch on employment and other economic trends, and as its counterpart there must be prompt action to correct any weaknesses whose development threatens to lessen the capacity of industry to make adequate use of the available labour force. 534. While the incidence in New Zealand of known vacancies far in excess of unemployed workers means that the objective of full employment has been attained and passed, the-situation is not without its difficulties. The outlook for New Zealand is, however, probably brighter than for many countries. The following factors will materially Assist the work of the National Employment Service in maintaining full employment: — (а) An early start has been made with the provision of adequate employment information. A large portion of industry was surveyed by the National Service Department as at October, 1945, and the Employment (Information) Regulations provide for future returns of information from industry, (б) Some elasticity in the size of the labour force is obtainable by decentralization of industry. Adequate information as to available labour and wages rates in various districts will enable industry to choose wisely and so promote balance and harmony in the economic and social structure. (c) The inelastic nature of the supply of farming products, coupled with the regularity of the monetary return as a result of the guaranteed-price system, has a considerable steadying effect in New Zealand, where farming is the occupation of 30 per cent, of the male labour force. (d) New Zealand's progressive policy with regard to sickness, unemployment, family, and age benefits is an insurance against over-violent fluctuations in purchasing-power. (e) There still remains a considerable amount of public development work to be carried out, and with adequate employment information available these works can be commenced at the time and place in which they are most needed to absorb available labour and to provide added purchasingpower as a stimulant to industry. (/) Various other factors at present operative (import control, stabilization, &c.) also tend to act as shock-absorbers for New Zealand industry against the effects of more violent fluctuations overseas. 535. New Zealand has full employment, and, though the task may be a difficult one if world conditions change, she has the resources and the organization to assist her to maintain it. The development of full employment in other countries will be a source of vital concern to New Zealand, but, whatever may happen overseas, the maintenance of full employment appears within practicable reach within the structure of New Zealand's present-day economy. PART VI.—HOME AID SERVICE 536. The Government for a long period has been aware of the need for providing domestic assistance in the home for the relief of hardship when the housewife becomes incapacitated by reason of maternity, sickness, &c. Eepresentations had continually been made by various women's organizations to the Government that some form of domestic relief should be given to women, and in 1944 a conference of women's organizations throughout the Dominion was called by the Minister of Health to receive suggestions, in an endeavour to formulate a plan for such relief. 537. As there were difficulties in the way of introducing such a scheme during the war, due mainly to the shortage of female labour available to take up this work, the matter was held in abeyance until 1945, when the Minister of Health again discussed the whole question with the National Council of Women through officers of the Wellington Branch of that Council. This Department was brought into the discussions at this stage as it was apparent that the operation of a domestic-service scheme such as that envisaged came within the scope of the functions of the Department in its post-war work as an Employment Service. 538. The Department was accordingly requested to formulate a detailed scheme to give effect to the principles agreed upon. This was done, and the proposals submitted by the Department were endorsed at a further meeting of those interested with the Minister of Health. The service to be established was to be known as the Home Aid Service, and the workers employed in the Service were to be designated Home Aids.

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539. The necessary legislative authority was then taken in the Employment Act to empower the Department to— Provide a Home Aid Service, by making the services of workers employed in the Department available for domestic and other work in cases of emergency and in other special circumstances, and to make such charges as may be fixed by the Minister for any services provided for any person by the Department. 540. The main provisions of the Service as finally agreed upon are set out in the following : Administration. —The Service is administered by the Head Office of this Department, which has appointed to its staff a woman Superintendent of Home Aids. The actual operation of the Service is carried out by the Department's district offices, in each of which a woman District Organizer is appointed. Conditions of Employment of Aids. —One of the major differences between the New Zealand Home Aid Service and Services of a similar nature which have been operated in this country and elsewhere, such as the Home Service Associations and other employment agencies of a like type, is that the New Zealand Home Aids are full-time State employees and enjoy the same privileges as other public servants in the matter of annual leave, sick-leave, and superannuation. As departmental employees, the Aids are paid by the Department, which recovers from householders the fees charged for their services. Status of Home Aids.—Another feature of the New Zealand Home Aid Service which is at present unique is the status accorded to Home Aids. They are not regarded as of what might be termed a menial status, but are looked upon more in the same way as companion-helps, taking their meals with the family and being otherwise treated in the same way as members of the family would expect to be treated. In this connection, however, it is clearly understood that their duties are not necessarily limited to those of a light nature. They may be called upon to perform all the ordinary tasks of a household. Whilst employed in the household they must carry out the reasonable directions of the lady of the house or other person in charge. Priorities.—ln the meantime, and pending further expansion of the Service, regard is had to certain priorities in the allocation of Aids to applicants for their services. Providing that all priority cases can be met, other types of cases will then receive consideration and allocations of Home Aids be made accordingly. The priorities observed are as follows : (а) Cases where there are one or more children under twelve years of age permanently residing in a home and where the mother or other woman in charge of the home is wholly or partially incapacitated from undertaking her ordinary domestic duties by reason of pregnancy or maternity, or by reason of accident, sickness, or infirmity of any kind : (б) Cases where there are three or more children under twelve years of age permanently residing in the home, and any member of the household requires special care and attention by reason of sickness or infirmity : (c) Cases where all the members of a household of an age or condition to help in the home are wholly or partially incapacitated from work by sickness or otherwise : (d) Cases where the lack of domestic assistance in the home is a cause of undue hardship. Hours of Work. —The Home Aids work an eight-hour day and a forty-hour week. Their travelling-expenses to and from the various jobs to which they are allocated are paid by the Department. In general, " live-in " engagements are discouraged, but allocations on this basis are made when unavoidable. Individual jobs may extend from an odd half-day up to a full-time forty-hour-week service extending over two or three weeks, or perhaps even longer in special cases. Charges for Service. —A flat rate of 2s. per hour is payable by the householder to the Department for the services of the Home Aid, irrespective of the period for which assistance is provided. In view of the additional hours of duty there is no reduction in this charge for " live-in " engagements, which, as already stated, are only approved when absolutely unavoidable. Whether the engagement is a " live-in " one or not, however, the Department has authority to approve of reductions in the full charge of 2s. per hour when payment at the full rate would create undue hardship. The Department accepts responsibility for any injuries incurred by Home Aids which arise out of or in the course of their employment, and it is not necessary for householders to arrange for compensation insurance cover. Classes of Aids and Salary Rates. —Aids proved to be capable of taking full charge of a household and carrying out all necessary duties are classified as Diploma Holders and receive a salary from the Department of £4 gross per week. Aids who have not quite reached this standard but are capable of 'carrying out all ordinary household duties are classified as Certificate Holders and receive a salary of £3 10s. gross. Trainees, being persons in training who have not reached certificate standard, receive a salary of £2 10s. per week gross during the period of their training. All classes of Home Aids, are provided by the Department with a badge and with free uniforms for wearing on the job.

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Accommodation and Training.—As, an essential adjunct to the satisfactory operation of a service •of this nature the question of training and accommodation arises, and in this connection the Department is in the process of setting up accommodation hostels in Auckland and Wellington. These hostels, besides providing board and lodgings for Home Aids, will be used as training-grounds for inexperienced girls who will be under the supervision of a qualified Matron. It is also hoped to arrange for certain types of training to be given in technical colleges. 541. It lias been impossible so far to meet all the demands made on the Service, and, unfortunately, a number of very deserving cases have had to be declined due to insufficient Aids being available, but with the continued expansion of the Service the Department hopes to be in a position in the near future to meet all demands. 542. The Service is attracting a very fine type of woman, no doubt due to the faet that the status aimed at is higher and the conditions of employment are better than those normally associated with domestic workers. Gratification has been expressed in innumerable cases by householders who have had the benefit of the Service, and it can be said without doubt that the Aids are fulfilling a very important and urgent need in the community. 543. On present indications, and judging from the demand already being made, it is estimated that there is scope for the expansion of the Service in the main centres and the secondary towns up to a total of about 120 to 150 Aids before the Department is in a position to meet all reasonably deserving cases. Expansion to this extent would probably enable the Department to give wider service to mothers with young children, &c., requiring part-time help in the home. It is the aim of the Department to build up the Service to this standard as soon as possible, and at the same time to do all possible by means of training and refresher courses to ensure the very highest quality of service. 544. The Service actually commenced operation early in December, 1945, when a start was made in Auckland and Wellington. Up to the end of March, 1946, the Service had been extended to the following additional centres: Christchurch, Dunedin, Rotorua, Napier, Hastings, Palmerston North, Nelson, Timaru, Oamaru, Ashburton, and Invercargill. At that time the total number of Aids employed was 35, but this number had been built up to 64 by the end of May, 1946. The following table summarizes the activities of the Service from commencement up to 31st March, 1946 :

Activities of the Home Aid Service during Months of December, 1945, and January, February, and March, 1946

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December, 1945, Total, and February, 1946. March, 1946. December, 1945, January, 1946. to March, 1946. Number of Aids employed at end of 20 30 35 35 period Details of cases commenced during period— Maternity 46 34 54 134 Sickness 49 43 56 148 Other 4 6 8 18 Total 99 83 118 300 Approved applications for Aids pen42 78 150 150 ding at end of period Details of applications for Aids declined during period— Unsatisfactory household 1 1 2 Insufficient merit 16 3 i3 32 Insufficient aids 51 55 89 195 Total 68 59 102 229

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545. The duration of individual engagements of Aids for the 300 cases set out in the above table was as follows : Under one week .. .. .. .. .. .. 225 One week and under two weeks .. .. .. 25 Two weeks and under three weeks .. .. .. 21 Three weeks and over .. .. .. .. 29 Total .. .. .. .. .. .. 300 546. It will be seen, therefore, that the very large majority of engagements were for a period of less than one full week. This tendency was due to some extent, however, to the limited number of Aids that was available in the early stages of the Service, as a result of which, in order to give a measure of service to as many deserving applicants as possible, it was not always possible to allocate an Aid for the full period applied for. 547. Reference has been made in the conditions of the scheme as outlined above to the fact that, where an applicant is unable to meet the full charge made for the services of a Home Aid, a reduction in the charge may be granted according to the financial circumstances of the applicant. In this connection, the applications approved by the Department up to 31st March, 1946, are set out as follows

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Amount of Reduction. Number of Applications approvedDecember and January. February. March. Under £1 per week 1 4 5 £1 and under £2 per week 6 10 £2 and under £3 per week "i 8 6 £3 and up to £3 10s. per week 3 1

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APPENDICES APPENDIX A.—POPULATION AND EMPLOYMENT (a) Immigration New Zealand's population has been built up on immigration and natural increase—i.e., the excess of births over deaths. In 1800 there was practically no " European " population, and even in 1839 the number was only about a thousand. From 1840 to 1880 immigration grew in volume, first through the colonizing activities of companies and societies, then the gold rushes, culminating in the vigorous development of the country by public works and assisted immigration. By 1880 the population (including Maoris) had passed the half-million mark. In 1888-1891 the severity of the economic depression resulted in much emigration, and more people left the country than came into it. From that time until the great depression of 1930 immigration was on an extensive scale, except during the war years, and it is significant that the total number of " assisted " immigrants to New Zealand to the end of March, 1944, was 226,274. During the depression years departures exceeded arrivals, and although this position was reversed from 1937 onwards the Second World War reduced the numbers to small proportions. (b) Natural Increase The growth in population from natural increase has been unbroken, although it has not always been regular. The rate of increase has declined substantially in the last few decades, reaching its lowest point in 1935. Between 1876 and 1880 the ratio of births over deaths per 1,000 population was 29-41, but the rate thereafter fell to 16-20 in the 1896-1900 period, around which figure it remained until the period of the First World War, when it fell to 13-59. The trend continued downward, to reach its lowest level in 1936, 7*89, which low point meant that the population was failing to reproduce itself in sufficient numbers for growth or even for the maintenance of a stationary population. The cause of this decline was the considerable fall in the birth-rate, which descended to 16-17 per 1,000 population in 1935. In 1878, 221*3 children were born per 1,000 women between the ages of fifteen and forty-five, but in 1936 this rate had fallen to 72-2. The effects of the cessation of immigration and the fall in the birth-rate can be seen from the figures of total increase in the population, by immigration, and excess of births over deaths, which in the period 1926-30 amounted to 101,969, compared with only 54,034 in the period 1931-35. With the passing of the depression the birth-rate rose again, and the rate for 1945, 23-22, was the highest recorded since 1921. In 1940 the total number of births exceeded the 30,000 level for the first time in the history of the country, and in 1945 it passed the 37,000 mark. A total of 202,359 live births were registered in the six-years period 1940-45, which was a 30-per-cent. increase, or 47,139, over the previous six-yearly period. The excess of births over deaths in 1940-45, 109,688, was 47 per cent, higher than in 1934-39. Over the 1941—45 period the total increase in population due to natural increase and such immigration as there was restored to something like the hundred thousand mark —that is, comparable with the 1926-30 period. (c) Effects of Changes in the Rate of Population Growth These changes in the rates of natural increase and immigration leave important effects on the relationship between the size of the working population and the dependent sections, and on the general development of the economy. To achieve a greater degree of stability in the development of the Dominion it is desirable that population growth should be steady and uniform, and it is clear from the above evidence that a necessary condition to such steadiness is the avoidance of periods of economic depression. Immigrants are mostly direct additions to the working population, and they become active producers and consumers as soon as they land. Children do not become producers until at least fifteen years after their birth. The decline and cessation in immigration which began in 1927 was felt immediately in the general economy of the country, and the decline in home-building, which commenced in that year, was, without doubt, partly attributable to the fall in immigration. Had the birth-rate not declined so markedly during the depression years the children who would have been born would now be coming on to the labour market. In 1940 there were 171,628 persons aged 15 to 20 inclusive, but in 1946 there are only 163,720, and by 1952 the number will have fallen to 148,356. (These figures are the births 15 to 20 years previously ahd take no account of deaths, immigration, or emigration.) Not until 1956 will the figure pass the 1940 level. Not all these juveniles will be available for employment, as an increasing proportion of them are staying on at secondary schools or attending the University full time. It is estimated that in 1945 the number at secondary school or University was 54,000, as against less than 20,000 in 1920, 30,000 in 1926, 37,000 in 1936, and 43,000 in 1939.

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It is quite evident that all the industries, trades, and professions which in the past have been accustomed to recruit new staff from the juvenile population each year leaving schools will be forced to revise their ideas. Those industries and trades which normally recruit juveniles with primary-school education only will find an even more diminished pool to the extent that more children will receive secondary education. Administrative and professional services have benefited in their task of recruiting young labour by the greater numbers receiving secondary education. For the next ten to fifteen years juvenile labour will be at a premium and the economic and social effects will be important. (d) Loss of Trade Training in Depression and War Years The aggregate labour resources of the Dominion cannot be measured solely by volume. Skill in an extraordinary variety of occupations is also necessary, and the past twenty years have witnessed great dislocations in the training of large proportions of the population. First ,the depression of the " thirties " ruined the chances of many young people acquiring a trade. Apprentices in skilled trades in 1928 numbered 10,227, but in 1935 there were only 3,329, and it was not until 1940 that the number reached 10,000 again. In 1928 there was one apprentice for every 142 population, whereas in 1935 the figure had climbed to one in 469, and 1944 one in 168. Industries which suffered most were building and construction—i.e., bricklaying, carpentry, joinery, masonry, painting, plastering, plumbing, gas-fitting, leadlight and glass bevelling, where the apprentices in 1935 were only a fifth of the number in 1928. On the other hand, appreciable increases in the apprentices in bootmaking, clothing, general and motor engineering, furniture, jewellery, watchmaking, photoengraving, printing, and tinsmithing were shown in 1944 over the numbers in those trades in 1928. The second major disturbance to the training of the labour force was the onset of war. A very large proportion of the total available man-power spent varying periods in the Armed Forces learning the arts of war instead of those of peace, the younger men missing the best years of their lives for training as artisans, and the older ones losing some of their acquired skill through lack of practice. Ten thousand lost their lives, others were maimed, wounded, suffered such physical mental and emotional hardships as to impair their efficiency as operatives for varying periods, and generally all were unsettled. Of the balance who remained in civilian work, a large proportion were engaged on war work, which often gave a different type of training from that required in peacetime. This lack of training in the depression and war years is the prime cause of the shortage of skilled men available to-day, but the shortage is being made good as rapidly as possible by the operation of trade-training schools for returned servicemen, particularly for building craftsmen. (e) Changes in Proportions of Workers and Dependants The proportion of the total population of a country which works for its living, or a portion of it, at any particular time, depends on the productive resources of that country in relationship to the standard of living desired by the community and their social customs. Productive resources include the technical and organizational skill of entrepreneurs and managers and the intelligence and dexterity of workers. Social customs include standards of education, provision for dependants, desire for leisure at the expense of material wealth. During the past decade decided changes have taken place in New Zealand's productive resources and social customs. Substantial additions to capital equipment in primary, manufacturing, transport, and distributive industries and greater -skill in its vise have materially increased production per unit of labour and hence rendered possible the maintenance or increase in total production of goods and services with a smaller labour force. Evolution of social thought has led to reduced working-hours, more holidays, better provision for dependants through social security legislation, improved health and educational facilities, and other measures designed to spread more evenly the benefits of increasing production. It is interesting to note the effects of falling birth and death rates on the age-distribution of the population. Obviously the proportion of young people has declined and that of the elderly has risen. Between 1881 and 1945 the percentage of the total population under fifteen years of age has declined from 42-5 to 24-8, while that of persons 65 and over has risen from 1-4 to 8-4. These two groups may be considered to be almost completely " dependent" for their means of life, and their aggregate percentage has fallen between 1881 and 1945 from 43-9 to 33-2 per cent, of the population. The middle group, in which are found almost the whole of the working population, was 56-1 per cent, of the total in 1881 and in 1945 it had risen to 66-8. (/) Geographical Distribution of Population In 1858 the North Island had a larger population than the South Island, but thereafter the South took the lead and retained it until the end of the century. The present century has witnessed a steadily rising proportion of the population residing in the North Island, and in 1945 it had reached 67-3 per cent. During the past ten years the population of the South Island has -been almost static and 99-8 per cent, of the total increase in the Dominion's population between 1936 and 1945 was in the North Island. Changes in the distribution of population between urban and rural centres have resulted in a reversal of the proportions between 1881 and 1945. In the earlier year 40 per cent, of the people lived in cities and boroughs, but by 1945 the percentage had moved up to 63. This phenomenon is often referred to as the drift from the country to the towns, but it is an inevitable development.

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As the population grows, but the total area of land does not, it follows that a time comes when it becomes uneconomic for further quantities of labour to seek its livelihood from the land. Mechanization of farming operations releases humans from a great deal of work and allows them to devote their efforts to other activities. Growth in the number of milking-machines, tractors, and other capital equipment will continue to force labour off the land into the factories, transport, and services. New Zealand so far has not experienced the great centralization of its urban population which has been characteristic of other countries. The four main cities of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin shared the great bulk of the industrial and commercial population more or lesson an even plane, but in the past decade the two northern cities have expanded rapidly while the two southern centres have shown little growth; the percentage increases being Auckland, 24; Wellington, 15; Christchurch, 13 ; and Dunedin, 1-3. There was always a big gap between the size of the four main centres and the other secondary towns. For example, in 1936 only three of the smaller towns had more than 20,000 population, whereas in 1946 there were seven. The inland centres of Hamilton and Palmerston North show remarkable growth. Unless positive action is taken to reverse the trend, it seems the North Island will continue to expand in population faster than the South Island, and that the metropolitan centres of Auckland and Wellington (including the Hutt Valley) will continue to grow in size and importance, followed by strategically placed smaller cities and towns which display marked virility. (g) Accommodation Shortage of accommodation, brought about by the reduction in home - building during the depression and its virtual cessation during the war, is hampering the growth of population and itsmobility. Vigorous action is being taken to build homes, and in the next few years it may be anticipated that the accommodation problem will have been considerably eased. When more homes are available in rural areas farmers will have less difficulty in securing labour. Manufacturers will be able to decentralize and employ the growing populations of the smaller cities and towns when houses are available there. But the trend towards further growth in the Auckland and Wellington areas will not cease in the absence of positive Governmental action. (h) Conclusion Overall continued expansion of the population may be anticipated, although the rate of growth depends on a variety of factors, not the least of which includes economic prosperity and the social outlook of potential parents. Expansion in manufacturing enterprise may be relied on to absorb increasing numbers of workers and the service industries will expand correspondingly. The major problems will be to secure, first, stability in the rate of population growth, whether by births or immigration, and, secondly, a balanced distribution of the population between rural and urban areas and the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries. Achievement of these aims involves a balancing of a complex variety of policies affecting our economic and social life and the further development of political and social consciousness as to the means necessary to make this balancing possible.

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APPENDIX B.—STATISTICAL TABLES

CONTENTS Table I Subiect-matter. I Page. No. I * |- Men Called up for Military Service 1 ! Schedule of Ballots .. .. .. • • • • • • • • • • 120 2 Classification, by Districts and Type of Military Service, of Men called in Ballots 1-24 121 3 Results of Medical Examinations of Men called in Ballots 124 .. .. .. 121 Strengths and Casualties of Armed Forces 4 Progressive Totals of Roll Strengths of New Zealand Armed Forces .. .. 122 5 Analysis of Strength of Armed Forces at 31st March, 1946 .. .. .. 122 6 Progressive Totals of Casualties incurred by all the New Zealand Armed Forces .. 123 7 Analvsis of Casualties incurred by the New Zealand Armed Forces up to YJ Day 123 (15th August, 1945) Appeals against Military Service 8 Determination of Appeals heard by Armed Forces Appeal Boards .. .. 123 9 Industrial Classification of Men held from Service with the Armed Forces on Occupa- 124 tional Grounds 10 Grade I Men made available to the Armed Forces following Dismissal of Appeal .. 127 11 Industrial Classification of Men made available to Forces following Review of Appeal.. 128 Defaulters 12 Classification, by Age and Normal Occupation, of all Defaulters .. .. .. 129 Special Tribunals 13 Classification by Age and Marital Status of all Cases under the Jurisdiction of the 129 Special Tribunals 14 Estimated Annual Payment by sPersons under the Jurisdiction of the Special Tribunals 129 Releases from the Armed Forces 15 Estimated Progressive Totals of Men released from the Armed Forces .. .. 130 16 Analysis of Releases from the Armed Forces from YJ Day (15th August, 1945) to 130 I 31st March, 1946 17 Recommendations by District Man-power Officers for the Release of Particular 130 Personnel on Industrial or Compassionate Grounds The Women's Land Service 18 Analysis of Applications, Strengths, and Vacancies, &c. .. .. .. .. 131 19 Progressive Totals of Roll Strength of the Service up to 31st March, 1946 .. .. 131 Man-power Utilization Councils and Committees 20 " ! Schedule of Local Committees attached to the various Councils .. .. 132 Registration for Work of National Importance 21 1 Schedule of Registration Orders .. .. .. .. .. .. 133 New Zealand's Labour Force 22 Estimated Distribution of Total Population in Industry, Armed Forces, &c. .. , 134 23 Diagram showing proportions of " Persons in Industry," " Armed Forces Personnel," 135 and " Others " (Juveniles, Old Persons, &c.) of the Total Population : Males 24 Diagram showing proportions of " Persons in Industry," " Armed Forces Personnel," j 136 and " Others " (Juveniles, Old Persons, &c.) of the Total Population : Females 25 Diagram showing the Effect of War on New Zealand's Male Labour Force .. | 137 26 Graph showing Progressive Labour Content of Particular Industrial Groups .. | 138 27 ! Diagram showing Ratios of Males to Females in Particular Industrial Groups .. 1 139 i

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| Subject-matter. Page. i Directions into Essential Work 28 Progressive Totals of Directions complied with up to 31st March, 1946 .. .. 140 29 Industrial Classification of Directions complied with .. .. .. .. 140 Restriction of Inflow into Industry 30 Results of Applications to engage Labour in Essential Industries .. .. .. 141 31 Results of Applications to' engage Labour in Non-essential Industries .. .. 141 Termination op Employment in Essential Undertakings 32 Results of Applications to terminate Employment in Essential Undertakings .. 142 33 Monthly Increases in Applications from Ist April, 1945, to 31st March, 1946 .. 142 34 ! Details of Cases where Permission to terminate Employment was granted .. .. 143 Industrial Absenteeism 35 Results of Application of Industrial Absenteeism Regulations .. .. .. 144 36 Industrial Classification of Persons reported for Unauthorized Absenteeism .. 144 Operations op Industrial Man-power Appeal Committees 37 Results of Appeals against Directions into Essential Work .. .. .. 145 38 I Results of Appeals against Decisions regarding Termination of Employment in 145 | Essential Undertakings 39 | Results of Appeals against the Imposition of Fines for Unauthorized Absenteeism .. 146 Financial Assistance 40 ( Industrial Classification of Amounts paid by way of Financial Assistance to Directed 147 i Workers Notified Vacancies in Industry 41 | Industrial Classification of Vacancies in Industry from 30th September, 1945, to 148 31st March, 1946 Disengaged Persons enrolled for Employment 42 Classification, by Districts, of Disengaged Persons enrolled for Employment .. 150 43 Classification, by Industries for which enrolled, of Disengaged Persons enrolled for 151 Employment Placements in Industry 44 Classification, by Districts, of Enrolled Persons placed in Industry by District 152 Man-power Officers 45 Industrial Classification of Enrolled Persons placed in Industry .. .. .. 153 Survey of Employment Prospects 46 Analysis of Number of Units and Pre-war and Present Labour Force of Particular 154 Industries 47 Analysis, by Districts and Occupations, of Present Labour Force of the Building and 155 Construction Industry Seasonal Employment 48 | Graph showing Progressive Labour Content of Freezing-works and Dairy Factories .. 156

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MEN CALLED UP FOR MILITARY SERVICE Table 1.—Schedule of Ballots up to VJ Day (15th August, 1945)

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Ballot No. Date of Gazette. Number of Men gazetted. Type of Service.* Classes included in Ballot. 1 .. 2/10/40 16,000 Territorial .. Single men aged 19 to 45 inclusive. 2 .. 6/11/40 33,717 ,, Single men aged 19 to 45 inclusive. 3 .. 4/12/40 14,000 Overseas Single men aged 21 to 40 inclusive. 4 .. 4/3/41 19,000 99 Single men aged 21 to 40 inclusive. 5 .. 26/3/41 7,710 Territorial .. All remaining single men aged 19 and 41 to 45 inclusive. € .. 29/4/41 1,445 „ Inflow at age ,19 and age 41 during period since fifth ballot. 7 .. 7/5/41 19,000 Overseas Single men aged 21 to 40 inclusive. 8 .. 24/6/41 11,111 Territorial .. Bulk of 18-year-old group, plus further inflow at ages 19 and 41. 9 .. 6/8/41 23,825 Overseas All remaining single men aged 21 to 40 inclusive. 10 .. 19/8/41 4,431 Territorial .. Balance of 18-year-old group, together with inflow at age 18. 11 .. 8/10/41 2,626 ?? Inflow at age 18 since tenth ballot. 12 .. 2/12/41 4,684 Overseas Inflow at age 21 since ninth ballot. 13 .. 20/1/42 27,104 Territorial .. fMarried men (without children) aged 18 to 45 inclusive. 14 .. 25/3/42 17,570 » fMarried men (with children) aged up to 28 inclusive. 15 .. 28/4/42 17,955 fMarried men (with children) aged 29 to 31 inclusive. 16 .. 24/6/42 21,268 General "("Married men (with children) aged 32 to 34 inclusive. 17 .. 15/9/42 22,395 55 fMarried men (with children) aged 35 to 37 inclusive. 18 .. 11/11/42 21,715 JJ fMarried men (with children) aged 38 to 40 inclusive. 19 .. 22/12/42 31,997 55 fMarried men (with children) aged 41 to 45 inclusive. 20 .. 27/7/43 7,536 >9 Further inflow at age 18 and miscellaneous " seepages " into other classes. 21 .. 10/11/43 4,077 55 Further inflow at age 18 and miscellaneous " seepages " into other classes. 22 .. 28/6/44 7,071 55 Further inflow at age 18 and miscellaneous " seepages " into other classes. 23 .. 21/11/44 4,609 55 Further inflow at age 18 and miscellaneous " seepages " into other classes. 24 .. 23/5/45 5,909 55 Further inflow at age 18 and miscellaneous " seepages " into other classes. * With the coming into force of the general service provisions, all men drawn in previous Territorial ballots were deemed to have been drawn for general service. t Bach of these ballots included also the inflow at age eighteen, together with other " seepages " into classes previously drawn.

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Table 2.—Classification, by Districts and Type of Military Service, of Men called in Ballots 1-24

Table 3.—Results of Medical Examinations of Men called in Ballots 1-24 INCLUSIVE

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Military Area. Territorial Service: Ballots 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13,14,15. Overseas Service : Ballots 3, 4, 7, 9, 12. General Service. All Ballots combined. Percentage of Dominion Total. Ballots 16-19. Ballots 20-21. Ballot 22. Ballot 23. Ballot 24. 1. Auckland 2. Paeroa 3. Whangarei 4. Hamilton 5. Wellington 6. Wanganui 7. Napier 8. New Plymouth .. 9. Nelson 10. Christchurch 11. Dunedin 12. Invercargill Whole Dominion 26,275 8,346 6,575 9,440 19,085 8,484 11,009 5,337 6,634 21,254 9,659 7,571 12,724 4,552 3,012 4,959 .10,789 5,393 6,473 3,581 5,243 11,985 6,204 5,594 16,767 5,847 4,327 5,895 11,640 6,845 8,112 4,853 5,527 14,475 7,109 5,978 2,166 580 416 612 1,504 786 862 598 585 1,800 1,032 672 1,328 370 236 367 903 471 580 . 288 362 1,139 570 457 900 255 151 257 625 294 377 223 233 687 340 267 1.116 306 192 327 721 347 453 262 321 1,010 497 357 61,276 20,256 14,909 21,857 45,267 22,620 27,866 15,142 18,905 52,350 25,411 20,896 I 17-6 5-8 4-3 6-3 13-0 6-5 8-0 4-4 5-5 15-1 7-4 6-1 139,669 80,509* 97,375 11,613 7,071 4,609 5,909 346,755 100-0 » Notes. —(i) Of the 80,509 men called for overseas service, 34,494 had already been included in previous Territorial ballots. (ii) In nearly 2,700 cases the calling up was subsequently cancelled by amending Gazette notice. (iii) Apart from the men included in ballots as shown above, over 550 have been called up under Regulation 44* following default in complying with the obligation to register for service.

Number of Men placed in Medical Grade. Ballot Number. I. Temporarily Unfit and Deferred. II. in. IV. Total examined. 1-12 (single men) 13-19 (married men) 20-24 (inflow at age 18, &c.) 58,602 64,330 11,411 10,185 12,728 1,027 11,661 19,040 1,604 15,606 30,738 1,474 7,132 2,990 226 103,186 129,826 15,742 All ballots 134,343 23,940 32,305 47,818 10,348 248,754 Percentage of Men placed in Medical Grade. Ballot Number. I. Temporarily Unfit and Deferred. II. III. IV. Total. 1-12 (single men) 13-19 (married men) 20-24 (inflow at age 18, &c.) 56-8 49-5 72-5 9-9 9-8 6-5 11-3 14-7 10-2 15-1 23-7 9-4 6-9 2-3 1-4 100-0 100-0 100-0 All ballots 540 9-6 13-0 19-2 4-2 100-0

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STRENGTHS AND CASUALTIES OF ARMED FORCES Table 4. —Progressive Roll Strengths of the New Zealand Armed Forces at Three-monthly Intervals from September, 1939, to February, 1946

Table 5.—Analysis of Strength of the Armed Forces at 31st March, 1946

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Date. Roll Strength of— Total Strength.* Total Overseas Male Strength as Percentage of Male Population Army. Air Force. Navy. included. aged 18-45 Years, at Annual Points. September November 1939 t t 1,846 3,021 724 1,060 2,570 (..) 4,081 (..) 463 669 Per cent. February May .. August .. November 1940 f6,671 -j-6,703 -j-35,052 f49,878 4,128 4,788 5,938 7,879 1,540 1,977 2,263 2,713 12,339 (..) 13,468 (..) 43,253 (..) 60,470 (..) 7,649 8,080 15,392 26,980 4 February May August .. November 1941 t57,740 f55,606 158,181 f62,461 9,925 11,708 13,510 15,251 3,040 3,767 4,064 4,624 70,705 (1) 71,081 (105) 75,755 (587) 82,336 (1,095) 33,583 42,344 43,274. 46,733 24 1942 February May (Peak mobilization) November 102,768 116,485 127,000 111,011 17,656 21,091 24,000 29,420 4,967 5,621 6,000 7,014 125,391 (1,481) 143,197 (2,118) 157,000 (3,413) 147,445 (5,208), 48,846 50,119 50,000 43,833 42 February May August .. November 1943 107,513 99,901 93,037 87,048 32,526 37,179 39,908 40,310 6,914 7,384 8,030 8,709 146,953 (6,223) 144,464 (6,560) 140,975 (8,730) 136,067 (8,188) 60,523 68,842 68,493 70,291 47 February May August .. November 1944 75,460 71,327 60,625 51,996 41,199 42,323 40,088 36,467 9,443 9,742 9,865 9,851 126,102 (8,069) 123,392 (7,460) 110,578 (7,206) 98,314 (6,230) 69,246 69,134 55,710 53,048 40 February May August .. November 1945 51,736 55,374 45,729 32,160 35,594 34,640 33,693 16,118 9,717 9,889 9,898 7,557 97,047 (5,916) 99,903 (5,582) 89,320 (5,082) 55,835 (3,096) 55,500 57,927 51,889 30,636 31 February 1946 12,910 8,486 5,103 | 26,499 (2,205) 8,052 8 * Figures in brackets show number of females included. t Army strengths exclude permanent staff up to .November, 1939, and part-time Territorials up to November, 1941.

Location. Army. Air Force. Navy. Total. Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females. New Zealand.. Overseas Total 8,548 4,651 878 91 5,223 1,616 629 3,413 428 297 17,184 6,695 1,804 91 13,199 969 6,839 629 3,841 297 23,879 1,895

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Table 6.—Progressive Annual Totals of Casualties incurred by the New Zealand Armed Forces during the 1939-45 War

Table 7.—Analysis by Forces of Casualties incurred by the New Zealand Armed Forces during the 1939-45 War

APPEALS AGAINST MILITARY SERVICE Table 8.—Determination of Appeals heard by Armed Forces Appeal Boards

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Outset to— Killed. Missing. Prisoners. Total Losses. Cumulative Total of Cases reported Wounded. Total Casualties. 31st March, 1942 . . 2,188 1,052 5,854 9,094 4,359 13,453 31st March, 1943 4,802 945 8,086 13,833 9,653 23,486 31st March, 1944 .. 7,373 931 7,315 15,619 14.142 29,761 31st March, 1945 .. 9,407 948 6,957 17.312 18,051 35,363 VJ Day (15th August, 1945) 10,130 634 24 10,788 19.345 30,133

Army. Air Force. Navy. Total. Killed 6,370 3,320 440 10,130 Missing 309 282 43 634 Prisoners 18 4 2 24 Total losses 6,697 3,606 485 10,788 Cumulative total of cases reported wounded 18,376 832 137 19,345 Total casualties 25,073 4,438 622 30,133

(Period covered : April, 1944, to VJ Day, 15th August, 1945) Determination of Appeal. April, 1944, to March, 1945. April and May, 1945. June to August, 1945. Total, April, 1944, to August, 1945. Number dismissed outright and withdrawn Number dismissed (general service) subject to time condition Number dismissed subject to New Zealand service (all types) Number allowed and adjourned sine die (not medically unfit) Number struck out (Grade IV) and adjourned medically unfit Total appeals heard 4,768 3,385 8 21,275 576 2,171 1,514 1 8,356 164 340 71 2 1,975 35 7,279 4,970 11 31,606 775 30,012 12,206 2,423 44,641

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Table 9.—Industrial Classification of Grade I Men aged 20-35 Years (inclusive), and Air Force and Naval Volunteers withheld from Service on Occupational Grounds at VJ Day (15th August, 1945)

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Number aged 20 Years and under. Number aged 21-35 Years inclusive. Industrial Group. Married. Subtotal. Total (all Ages). be © •+= Single. -No Children. One Child. Two Children. ?ofi Primary Industry Sheep-farming Dairy-farming ' Other farming (including tobacco and vegetable All farming Pishing and trapping Flax growing and milling Bush-sawmilling and afforestation Gold-mining * Other mining (including scheelite and oil) "Quarrying 95 218 261 574 7 1 44 2 10 896 2,378 2,081 5,355 48 4 570 18 31 2 173 514 389 1,076 ■ 22 3 120 4 10 1 299 685 480 1,464 19 3 180 15 13 4 235 691 471 1,397 .12 4 181 11 7 3 1,603 4,268 3,421 9,292 101 14 1,051 48 61 10 1,698 4,486 3,682 9,866 108 15 1,095 50 71 10 7-9 20-7 17-0 45-6 0-5 0-1 5-1 0-2 0-3 0-0 Sub-total 638 6,028 1,236 1,698 1,615 10,577 11,215 51-8 Building and Construction Road, railway, hydro, &c., construction Housing and other building construction 5 45 26 95 27 99 44 129 43 195 140 518 145 563 0-7 2-6 Sub-total 50 121 126 173 238 658 708 3-3 Transport and Communication Railways (including workshops and motor services) Tramways Motor services (including garages) n.e.i. and harbour services .. Air services Post and Telegraph and radio broadcasting 39 43 691 2 56 473 16 59 471 13 85 321 12 139 1,956 43 339 1,995 43 382 9-2 0-2 1-8 1 30 12 6 133 12 4 68 28 1 63 22 4 59 74 15 323 75 15 353 0-3 0-1 1-7 Sub-total 113 900 632 661 557 2,750 2,863 13-3 Heat, Light, and Power Electricity production and supply Gas production and supply 4 35 4 26 1 41 7 48 8 150 20 154 20 0-7 0-1 Sub-total 4 39 27 48 56 170 174 0-8 * Note.—The figures in these groups exclude coal-miners, some 2,500. ships' personnel, ministers of religion, and police, totalling

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Table 9.—Industrial Classification of Grade I Men aged 20-25 Years (inclusive), and Air Force and Naval Volunteers withheld from Service on Occupational Grounds at VJ Day (15th August, 1945)-continued

125

Number aged 21-35 Years inclusive. Number Industrial Group. aged 20 Years Married. Total (all iff;! and under. Subtotal. Ages). m S h i Single. Ho Children. One Child. Two Children. 2 OH PH Secondary Industry Engineering 121 446 270 304 270 1,290 1,411 6-5 Meat freezing, preserving, &c. 13 208 208 351 294 1,061 1,074 5-0 Butter and cheese manufacture .. 21 193 101 148 127 569 590 2-7 ■Grain milling and cereal food 1 3 8 8 19 20 0-1 : making Sugar-refining 1 3 4 5 12. 13 0-1 Bread, cake, and pastry making .. 12 60 30 62 53 205 217 1-0 Biscuit and confectionery making 2 1 2 1 3 7 9 0-0 Jam-making, fruit and vegetable 4 3 7 3 17 17 0-1 preserving Brewing and malting 1 1 2 4 4 0-0 Aerated water and cordial making Other food and drink industries .. 4 17 14 22 18 71 75 0-3 All food and drink industries 54 487 361 604 513 1,965 2,019 9-3 Fellmongering and woolscouring .. 2 14 ' 5 7 4 30 32 0-2 Tanning 1 28 14 23 8 73 74 0-3 Woollen and knitted goods manu3 23 21 34 20 98 101 0-5 facture Silk-hosiery manufacture 1 2 2 2 7 7 0-0 Flock, felt, sack, rope, &c., manu5 5 8 5 23 23 0-1 facture Hats and millinery manufacture .. 1 1 2 3 4 0-0 Clothing-manufacture n.e.i. 7 11 10 27 7 55 62 0-3 Boot, shoe, and slipper making .. 14 30 40 44 37 151 165 0-8 Boot-repairing 2 3 2 3 8 10 0-0 Other leather working 3 6 4 2 15 15 0-1 Laundering, dry-cleaning, and i 3 2 3 6 14 15 0-1 dyeing Other textile, clothing, &c., indus1 1 4 1 7 7 0-0 tries All textiles, clothing, &c., 31 123 108 161 92 484 515 2-4 industries Lime and cement manufacture .. 2 7 5 10 8 30 32 0-2 Brick, tile, and concrete products 2 17 16 18 19 70 72 0-3 manufacture Asbestos, stone, and other mineral 2 2 1 2 5 7 0-0 processing Wallboard-manufacture 4 5 5 3 17 17 0-1 Timber milling and joinery 4 41 16 36 25 118 122 0-6 Wooden box and case making 4 18 9 13 5 45 49 0-2 Cabinet and hard-furniture making 8 11 4 9 12 36 44 0-2 Upholstering and soft-furniture 2 2 1 4 2 9 11 0-1 making Other industries allied to building 1 2 3 2 8 8 0-0 All industries allied to building 24 103 58 99 78 338 362 1-7

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Table 9. —Industrial Classification of Grade I Men aged 20 —35 Years (inclusive), and Air Force and Naval Volunteers withheld from Service on Occupational Grounds at VJ Day (15th August, 1945) —continued

126

Number aged 20 Years and under. Number aged 21-85 Years inclusive. ■a o? OT3 <U Industrial Group. Married. Subtotal. Total (all Ages). § Single. No Children. One Child. Two Children. s Si2 M P-I «, Secondary Industry—continued Glass-manufacture .. Rubber and rubber-goods manufacture Paint and varnish manufacture .. Soap and candle making Manure-manufacture Drugs and chemical manufacture.. Paper and cardboard manufacture Carton, cardboard-box, and paperbag making Printing, publishing, and bookbinding Tobacco-processing and cigarettemaking Other secondary industries 1 4 2 7 3 4 10 7 7 3 3 16 6 1 3 3 1 1 1 18 9 5 9 3 2 5 3 3 1 19 1 5 7 3 1 2 11 3 5 1 32 2 8 17 25 7 4 24 14 11 6 85 3 28 18 29 7 4 24 14 11 8 92 3 31 © © © oooooo o® 1 li © tf»- OHHHOO I— t— Sub-total (Secondary Industries) Commerce and Finance Banks, insurance, trustees, &c. .. Shops, warehouses, depots, &c. .. Stock and station agencies and storage 247 1,215 834 1,224 1,028 4,301 4,548 210 10 49 2 11 155 11 11 91 8 23 124 16 29 121 7 74 491 42 84 540 44 0-4 2-5 0-2 Sub-total 61 177 110 163 157 607 668 31 Public Administration and Professional * Health and social welfare Education Defence (civil staff) * Lawyers, justice, and prisons .. Government Departments n.e.i. .. Local authorities n.e.i. 5 8 6 4 99 33 6 6 108 18 56 22 14 4 85 30 60 34 11 6' 73 48 39 38 2 59 45 254 127 31 18 325 141 259 135 31 18 331 145 1-2 0-6 0-2 01 1-5 0-7 Sub-total 23 270 211 232 183 896 919 4-3 Miscellaneous Services and Professions Entertainment, sport, and recreation Hotels and catering Musicians, artists, authors, &c. .. Other services 1 1 2 2 4 1 5 1 1 1 4 2 3 3 11 5 8 3 12 5 8 0-0 01 00 0-0 Sub-total 1 9 8 1 9 27 28 01 Training for Industry University and other students 112 382 4 4 390 502 2-3 Total for all industries .. 1,249 9,141 3,188 4,200 3,847 20,376 21,625 100-0 * Note. —The figures in these groups exclude coal-miners, ships' personnel, ministers of religion, and police, totalling some 2,500.

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Table 10.—Grade I Men made available to the Armed Forces following Dismissal of Appeals

127

(Period covered : 1st April, 1943, to VJ Day, 15th August, 1945) Number of Men made available — Period during which Release was effected. Total, April, 1943, to August, 1945. April, 1943, to March, 1944. April, 1944, to March, 1945. April, 1945, to 15th August, 1945. (a) Following withdrawal of an unheard appeal or dismissal of an appeal on its first hearing (the appeal being dismissed either with or without a time condition) — Single men Married men without children Married men with children Total {h) Following withdrawal or review of a case where service with the Armed Forces had been previously postponed— Single men Married men without children Married men with children Total Total men made available | 587 199 1,046 1,444 231 262 556 59 61 2,587 489 1,369 1,832 1,937 676 4,445 2,405 542 2,056 3,845 804 1,567 2,629 339 452 8,879 1,685 4,075 5,003 6,216 3,420 14,639 6,835 8,153 4,096 19,084

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128

Table 11.—Classification, by Pre-service Industrial Group, of Grade I men made available to the Armed Forces following Review of Appeal (Section (b), Table 10)

(Period covered: 1st April, 1943, to YJ Day, 15th August, 1945) Period covered. Total, April, 1943, to August, 1945. Industrial Group. April, 1943, to March, 1944. April, 1944, to March, 1945. April, 1945, to 15th August, 1945. Primary Industry Fishing and trapping Sheep-farming Dairy-farming Other farming (including tobacco and vegetable) Flax growing and milling Bush sawmilling and afforestation .. Mining and quarrying 14 234 745 498 27 76 28 20 287 647 515 31 107 46 3 418 1,109 745 4 35 7 37 939 2,501 1,758 62 218 81 Building and Construction All building and construction 337 800 65 1,202 Transport and Communication Railways (including workshops and motor services) .. Motor services n.e.i. (including garages) Other transport services Post and Telegraph and radio broadcasting 138 189 186 81 518 250 97 30 40 30 12 28 696 469 1 295 m Heat, Light, and Power All gas and electricity production and supply 44 68 7 11& Secondary Industry Engineering and metal trades Meat freezing, preserving, &c. Butter and cheese manufacture Other food and drink industries Textile, fibre, clothing manufacture and repair, and leather industries Building materials, timber and furniture industries .. Other secondary industries 414 316 114 121 270 123 129 760 242 312 114 305 264 104 164 452 101 24 22 25 25 1,338 1,010 527 '259 597 412 258 Commerce and Finance Banks, insurance, trustees, &c. Shops, warehouses, stock and station agencies, storage, &c. 118 268 31 202 3 37 152 507 Public Administration and Professional All public administration and professional (including Government Departments n.e.i.) 427 295 50 • 772: Miscellaneous Miscellaneous services and professions University and other students 23 83 12 159 3 11 38 253 All industries 5,003 6,216 3,420 14,639

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DEFAULTERS Table 12.—Classification, by Age and Normal Occupation, of all Men who have passed through Defaulters' Detention Camps up to 31st March, 1946

SPECIAL TRIBUNALS Table 13.—Classification, by Age and Marital Status, of persons under the Jurisdiction of the Special Tribunals at 31st December, 1945

Table 14.—Estimated Annual Payments by Persons under the Jurisdiction of the Special Tribunals

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Occupational Group. Age of Men at Date of entering Camp. Total. Under 21 Years. 21-25 Years. 26-30 Years. 31-35 Years. 36-40 Years. 41 Years and over. Farming 21 70 55 20 14 3 183 Other primary 1 8 8 5 2 1 25 Building and construction 7 21 28 26 7 3 92 Transport and communication 21 13 7 2 1 44 Engineering 11 24 18 14 3 1 71 Other food and drink .. .. 8 6 4 1 19 Other textiles .. .. 1 17 16 6 1 1 42 Building materials 2 3 3 8 Other secondary 2 7 6 4 3 22 Clerical 7 22 29 10 1 69 Other commerce and finance 5 19 | 28 14 4 7 77 Public administration and professional .. 6 23 17 8 2 3 59 Labourers 4 23 16 9 4 56 Others (unspecified) 2 8 13 8 4 1 36 Total 69 274 256 135 44 25 803

Age. Marital Status. Total. Under 1 20-30 1 31-35 1 36-40 41 Years 25 Years. Years. 1 Years. Years. and over. Single 146 151 65 37 39 438 Married without children 21 67 52 27 23 ! 190 Married with children 5 56 88 40 9 j 198 Total .. .. 1 172 1 274 205 104 71 826

Number Amount of Payment of Persons. Nil .. 483 Under £20 per annum 240 £20 and under £40 per annum 63 £40 and under £60 per annum 19 £60 and under £80 per annum 16 £80 and under £100 per annum £100 and under £150 per annum 5 £150 and under £200 per annum Total 826 Total estimated annual yield £6,502 Average estimated annual yield per order £7 15s. 5d.

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RELEASES FROM THE ARMED FORCES Table 15.—Estimated Progressive Totals of Men released from the Armed Forces up to 31st March, 1946

Table 16.—Analysis of Persons demobilized from VJ Day (15th August, 1945) to 31st March, 1946

Table 17. —Results of Recommendations by District Man-power Officers for the Release of Personnel from the Armed Forces on Industrial and Compassionate Grounds

130

Period covered. 1 Number released. Outset to 31st March, 1943 1st April, 1943, to 31st March, 1944 1st April, 1944, to 31st March, 1945 1st April, 1945, to VJ Day (15th August, 1945) YJ Day to 31st March, 1946 .. .. 23,000 32,000 34,000 28,000 77,000 Outset to 31st March, 1946 194,000

Number demobilized from 15th August, 1945, to Number 31st March, 1946. demobilized as Branch of Service. Percentage of strength at Males, Females. Total. 15th August, 1945. Per Cent. Army .. 42,200 1,302 43,502 87 Air Force 25,083 1,799 26,882 79 Navy 6,611 259 6,870 69 Total 73,894 3,360 77,254 82

(Period covered : VJ Day (15th August, 1945) to 31st March, 1946) Recommendations. Reason for Release. Total. Approved by Forces. Declined byForces. Under Action at 31st March, 1946. Industrial grounds— Farming 1,249 1,009 174 66 Shearing 75 58 16 1 Mustering 9 7 1 1 Dairy factories 159 130 27 2 Sawmills 79 58 17 4 Coal-mining 20 13 5 2 Carpentering 409 324 73 12 Electrical work 227 192 31 4 Plumbing 100 85 13 2 Painting 106 76 | 29 1 Other industries 1,282 849 ! 361 72 Compassionate grounds 203 147 1 41 15 Total .. .. . . 3,918 2,948 ! 788 182

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THE WOMEN'S LAND SERVICE Table 18.—Analysis of Applications, Strengths, and Vacancies, etc., at 31st March, 1946

Table 19.—Progressive Strengths of Women's Land Service at Three-monthly Intervals from September, 1943, to 31st March, 1946

131

! -> i On Relatives' Farms. Others. Total. Number of applications to join the Women's Land Service received 1,582 2,708 4,290 from outset up to 31st March, 1946 Number of persons who have passed through the Service up to 1,317 1,394 2,711 31st March, 1946 Number of farms which have been attended up to 31st March, 1946 1,297 1,666 2,963 Number on active strength at 31st March, 1946 848 380 1,228 Number of applications held up on occupational grounds 420 420 Number temporarily unavailable for placement 35 35 Number immediately available for placement 3 3 Number of approved vacancies existing at 31st March, 1946 12 12

On Relatives' Farms. Strength at Dairy-farms. Other Farms. Total. 30th September, 1943 488* 31st December, 1943 847* 31st March, 1944 584 483 1,067 30th June, 1944 671 527 1,198 30th September, 1944 691 535 1,226 31st December, 1944 679 525 1,204 31st March, 1945 667 482 1,149 30th June, 1945 621 460 1,081 30th September, 1945 547 433 980 31st December, 1945 514 411 925 31st March, 1946 465 383 848 Others. Strength at Total Strength. Dairy-farms. Other Farms. Total. 30th September, 1943 466* 954 31st December, 1943 745* 1,592 31st March, 1944 390 422 812 1,879 30th June, 1944 430 457 887 2,085 30th September, 1944 462 400 862 2,088 31st December, 1944 478 392 870 2,074 31st March, 1945 373 328 701 1,850 30th June, 1945 291 312 603 1,684 30th September, 1945 276 269 545 1,525 31st December, 1945 224 230 454 1,379 -31st March, 1946 182 198 380 1,228 * Classification of type of farm is not available prior to March, 1944. Notb.—No quarterly totals are available prior to September, 1943.

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MAN-POWER UTILIZATION COUNCILS AND COMMITTEES Table 20. —Schedule of Local Committees attached to the various Councils.

132

(Position at 31st March, 1946) Industries for which Dominion Councils have been set up. Locations of Local Committees attached to each Dominion Council. Baking trades Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin. Biscuit-manufacture Nil. Brick, tile, and pottery Auckland. Building trades Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Rotorua,. Gisborne, Napier, New Plymouth, Wanganui, Palmerston North, Nelson, Greymouth, Invercargill. Butter and cheese Nil. Clothing-manufacture Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin. Coal-gas Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin. Electrical trades Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin. Engineering Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Whangarei, Hamilton, Thames, Paeroa, Gisborne, Napier, New Plymouth, Wanganui, Palmerston North, Lower Hutt, Nelson, Westport, Greymouth, Timaru, Invercargill. Food canning and preserving Nil. Footwear-manufacture Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin. Freezing-works Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Gisborne. Furniture-manufacture Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Gisborne, Napier, New Plymouth, Wanganui, Nelson, Timaru, Invercargill. Laundries Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin. Motor-trades Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Whangarei, Hamilton, Thames (including Paeroa), Rotorua, Gisborne, Napier, New Plymouth, Wanganui, Palmerston North, Masterton, Nelson, Greymouth, Timaru, Invercargill. Optical trades Nil. Plumbing trades Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin. Printing and publishing Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Gisborne, Napier, New Plymouth, Wanganui, Palmerston North, Timaru, Invercargill. Road transport • Auckland, Wellington. Christchurch, Dunedin, Whangarei, Hamilton, Paeroa, Rotorua, Gisborne, Napier, New Plymouth, Wanganui, Palmerston North, Masterton, Nelson, Westport, Greymouth, Timaru, Oamaru, Invercargill. Tanneries Nil. Timber Taumarunui, Invercargill. Tobacco-manufacture Wellington, Napier. Tramways Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, New Plymouth,. Wanganui, Invercargill. Wholesale grocery trade Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Napier, Invercargill. Woollen-mills Auckland, Lower Hutt, Dunedin, Napier, Wanganui. In addition, there are two industries where Utilization Committees have been established but where Dominion Councils have not been set up. These are as follows :— Coal-distribution .. .. 1 Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin. Ship-building .. Auckland.

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REGISTRATION FOR WORK OF NATIONAL IMPORTANCE Table 21.—Schedule of Registration Orders

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133

Name of Order. Date. Serial Reference. Classes covered.* The Registration for Employment Order No. 1 18/3/42 1942/71 Men aged 46-49 inclusive, and women aged 20-21 inclusive. The Building and Allied Trades' Workers 18/3/42 1942/72 Men with experience in building Registration Order 1942 and construction, aged 18-70 inclusive. The Metal Trades' Workers Registration 18/3/42 1942/73 Men with experience in engiOrder 1942 neering and metal trades, aged 18-70 inclusive. The Registration for Employment Order No. 2 8/4/42 1942/97 Men aged 50 but not 51. The Timber-workers Registration Order 1942 7/5/42 1942/130 Men with experience in the timber industry, aged 18-65 inclusive. The Registration for Employment Order No. 3 15/7/42 1942/218 Women aged 22-25 inclusive resident in boroughs of Hamilton and Cambridge. The Registration for Employment Order No. 4 3/8/42 1942/239 Women aged 22-23 inclusive. The Registration for Employment Order No. 5 24/9/42 1942/281 Women aged 24-30 inclusive. The Registration for Employment Order No. 6 8/10/42 1942/291 Men aged 51-59 inclusive. The Registration for Employment Order No. 7 8/10/42 1942/292 Aliens aged 18-45 inclusive. The Scientists and Technicians Registration 3/2/43 1943/14 Persons with qualifications or Order 1943 experience in science or engineering. The Registration for Employment Order No. 8 18/2/43 1943/24 Women aged 18-19 inclusive. The Registration for Employment Order No. 9 26/1/44 1944/5 Women aged 31-40 inclusive. * Except in tlie case of the Scientists and Technicians Order, exempted classes were provided for in each case, including, inter alia, persons already registered, members of the Forces, invalids, and other classes definitely unavailable for direction into (other) employment.

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NEW ZEALAND'S LABOUR FORCE Table 22.—Estimated Distribution of Total Population in Industry, Armed Forces, etc., at the End of each Year from 1939 to 1945

134

September, 1939. December, 1940. December, 1941. December, 1942. December, 1943. December, 1944. December, 1945. Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females. Primary Industry — Farming Other primary industry 155,000 27,000 8,000 147,000 26,000 9,000 135,000 24,000 9,000 140,000 24,000 9,000 143,000 23,000 10,000 152,000 24,000 9,000 154,000 26,000 8,000 Building and Construction 45,000 41,000 31,000 28,000 27,000 29,000 39,000 Transport and Communication 70,000 3,000 67,000 5,000 57,000 7,000 56,000 9,000 57,000 9,000 61,000 9,000 67,000 6,000 Manufacturing Industry — Food, drink, and tobacco Clothing, textiles, and leather .. Engineering and metalworking.. Other manufacturing industries 27,000 9,000 24,000 31,000 7,000 19,000 3,000 5,000 27,000 9,000 24,000 29,000 7,000 19,000 4,000 7,000 27,000 9,000 24,000 25,000 7,000 19,000 4,000 9,000 27,000 9,000 24,000 21,000 7,000 19,000 4,000 8,000 27,000 9,000 24,000 22,000 7,000 19,000 4,000 8,000 28,000 10,000 24,000 24,000 7,000 20,000 4,000 7,000 29,000 11,000 25,000 30,000 7,000 20,000 4,000 6,000 Distribution and Finance 46,000 36,000 41,000 40,000 34,000 44,000 33,000 45,000 34,000 46,000 36,000 45,000 42,000 42,000 Administration and Professional .. 17,000 15,000 15,000 17,000 12,000 20,000 11,000 23,000 12,000 25,000 13,000 26,000 14,000 25,000 Hotels and Restaurants, Entertainments, Laundries, and other Miscellaneous Services 50,000: 84,000 36,000 92,000 25,000 95,000 21,000 100,000 27,000 100,000 33,000 93,000 42,000 82,000 Unemployment Benefit, Scheme 13, die. Total Labour Force 19,000 13,000 6,000 2,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 520,000 180,000 475,000 200,000 409,000 214,000 396,000 224,000 406,000 228,000 435,000 220,000 480,000 200,000 Armed Forces .. Juveniles, old persons, invalids, &c. 3,000 310,000 629 j000 65,000 301,000 621,000 125,000 314,000 1,000 617,000 150,000 310,000 6,000 613,000 129,000 329,000 8,000 616,000 101,000 335,000 6,000 636,000 45,000 352,000 3,000 666,000 Total Population .. 833,000 809,000 841,000 821,000 848,000 832,000 856,000 843,000 864,000 852,000 871,000 862,000 877,000 869,000

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Table 23.—Diagram showing Proportionate Distribution of the Total Male Population among "Industry," "Armed Forces," and "Others" (Juveniles, Old Persons, etc.)

135

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Table 24.—Diagram showing Proportionate Distribution of the Total Female Population among "Industry, " "Armed Forces," and "Others" (Juveniles, Old Persons, etc.)

136

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Table 25. —Diagram showing the Effect of War on New Zealand's Male Labour Force

137

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Table 26.—Graphs showing Progressive Labour Content of Particular Industrial Groups at the End of each Year from 1939 to 1945

138

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Table 27. —Diagram showing the Ratios of Males to Females in Four Main Industrial Groups in 1939, 1942, and 1945

139

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DIRECTIONS INTO ESSENTIAL WORK Table 28. —Progress of Directions complied with from Outset to 31st March, 1946

Table 29.—Industrial Classification of Directions complied with (Period covered: 1st October, 1943, to 31st March, 1946) (a) Males

(b) Females

140

Period covered. Males. Females. Total. Outset to 31st March, 1943 1st April, 1943, to 31st March, 1944 1st April, 1944, to 31st March, 1945 1st April, 1945, to 31st March, 1946 22,250 41,295 53,536 21,427 4,716 11,692 16,044 5,128 26,966 52,987 69,580 26,555 Outset to 31st March, 1946 .. 138,508 37,580 176,088

Period covered. Industrial Group. 1st October, 1943, 1st April, 1944, 1st April, 1945, 1st October, 1943, to to to to 31st March, 1944. 31st March, 1945. 31st March, 1946. 31st March, 1946. Farming (including flax and vegetable) .. 2,384 8,691 2,234 13,309 Sawmilling and mining 686 2,404 1,070 4,160 Building and construction 2,762 8,313 3,250 14,325 Transport and communication 1,240 4,782 2,046 8,068 Engineering and power-production 1,699 4,841 2,221 8,761 Food processing (freezing-works, dairy 6,352 11,239 4,940 22,531 factories, &c.) Other secondary industries 2,019 6,557 3,341 11,917 Commerce and finance 1,598 3,501 1,132 6,231 Public administration and professional .. 1,345 2,546 1,011 4,902 Hotels, entertainment, and miscellaneous 246 662 182 1,090 All industries 20,331 53,536 21,427 95,294

Industrial Group. Period covered. 1st October, 1943, to 31st March, 1944. 1st April, 1944, to 31st March, 1945. 1st April, 1945, to 30th June, 1945. 1st October, 1943, to 30th June, 1945. Farming (including flax and vegetable).. 1,349 1,656 109 3,114 Engineering 393 1,077 157 1,627 Food processing and manufacturing 406 1,483 164 2,053 Textile, footwear, & c., industries 1,200 3,645 924 5,769 Other secondary industries 499 784 183 . 1,466 Shops, warehouses, &c. 52 138 15 205 Office workers (all industries) 642 ] ,506 212 2,360 Hospitals 840 2,720 466 4,026 Hotels and catering 1,203 2,636 447 4,286 Miscellaneous (transport, &c.) 349 399 55 803 All industries 6,933 16,044 2,732 25,709 Note.—Since June, 1945, as a result of the relaxation of man-power control, there have been only 2,396 female directions. Of these, the majority were directed to hospitals, and clothing and tobacco factories.

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RESTRICTION OF INFLOW INTO INDUSTRY Table 30.—Results of Applications to engage Labour in Essential Industries

Table 31.—Results of Applications to engage Labour in Non-essential Industries

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141

tlst July, 1944, to 31st March, 1945. '1st April, 1945, to 31st January, 1946. 1st July, 1944, to> 31st January, 1946- — Applications in respect of — Total. Applications in respect of — Total. Applications in respect of — Total. Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females. Total applications received from employers to engage workers Number of applications dealt with Details of applications dealt with — Number of employees required Number of names submitted .. Number of names where permission was— Granted Refused Percentage refused Number of persons directed into other work 16,218 16,157 16,815 16,821 16,395 426 2-5 263 11,550 11,479 11,682 11,686 11,222 464 4-0 366 27,768 27,636 28,497 28,507 27,617 890 31 629 16,670 16,712* 16.990 16.991 16,783 208 1-2 144 9,897 9,949* 9,965 9,965 9,720 245 2-5 187 26,567 26,661* 26.955 26.956 26,503 453 1-7 331 32,888 32,869 33,805 33,812 33,178 634 1-9 407 21,447 21,428 21,647 21,651 20,942 709 3-3 553 54,335 54,297 55,452 55,463 54,120 1,343 2-4 960 * These figures include cases lodged during the previous period but not dealt with until the current period, t Figures relating to restriction of inflow of labour into essential industries are not available prior to July, 1944.

31st Outset to March, 1945. 1st April, 1945, to 31st January, 1946. Outset to 31st January, 1946. — Applications in respect of— Total. Applications in respect of— Total. Applications in respect of — Total. Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females. Total applications received from employers to engage workers Number of applications dealt with Details of applications dealt with —- Number of employees required Number of names submitted .. Number of names where permission was— Granted Refused Percentage refused Number of persons directed into other work 31,276 31,140 33,294 33,315 31,889 1,426 4-3 878 36,298 36,205 38,315 38,363 35,680 2,683 7-0 1,757 67,574 67,345 71,609 71,678 67,569 4,109 5-7 2,635 15,891 15,970* 16,038 16,038 15,870 168 1-0 143 11,323 11,364* 11,370 11,373 10,968 405 3-6 319 27,214 27,334* 27,408 27,411 26,838 . 573 2-1 462 47,167 47,110 49,332 49,353 47,759 1,594 3-2 1,021 47,621 47,569 49,685 49,736 46,648 3,088 6-2 2,076 94,788 94,679 99,017 99,089 94,407 4,682 4-7 3,097 * These figures include cases lodged during the previous period but not dealt with until the current period.

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TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT IN ESSENTIAL UNDERTAKINGS Table 32.—Results of Applications to terminate Employment

Table 33.—Monthly Progress of Total Applications received from 1st April, 1945, to 31st March, 1946

142

. — Outset to 31st March, 1945. 1st April, 1945, to 31st March, 1946. Outset to 31st March, 1946. Applications from — Total. Applications from — Total. Applications from— Total. Employers. Employees. Employers. Employees. Employers. Employees. Total number of applications received Number of applications dealt with during period Details of applications deaM with — Number subsequently withdrawn Number where permission to terminate was refused Number where permission was granted Percentages of applications dealt with — Subsequently withdrawn Refused Granted 70,535 70,234 905 2,329 67,000 1-3 3-3 95-4 161,034 160,277 2,326 25,540 132,411 1-5 15-9 82-6 231,569 230,511 3,231 27,869 199,411 - . 1-4 12-1 86-5 22,616 22,799* 302 347 22,150 1-3 1-5 97-2 50,466 50,908* 490 5,193 45,225 1-0 10-2 88-8 73,082 73,707* 792 5,540 67,375 1-1 7-5 91-4 93,151 93,033 1,207 2,676 89,150 1-3 2-9 95-8 211,500 211,185 2,816 30,733 177,636 1-3 14-6 84-1 304,651 304,218 4,023 33,409 266,786 1-3 110 87-7 * These figures include cases lodged during the previous period but not dealt with until the current period.

Period. Number of Applications received from— Total. Employers. Employees. Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females. Outset to 31st March, 1945 Applications during— 1945—April May June July .. August .. September October .. .. November December 1946 —January February March. 1st April, 1945, to 3lst March, 1946 Outset to 31st March, 1946 70, 1,295 1,790 3,588 2,878 1,767 1,587 1,501 1,128 706 506 496 681 535 800 536 489 478 698 374 428 329 312 204 38 7 161, 3,040 3,296 3,452 3,333 3,363 3,030 2,622 2,011 1,193 1,301 589 419 034 1,969 2,546 2,525 2,828 2,760 2,743 2,277 2,118 1,509 1,107 362 73 231, 4,335 5,086 7,040 6,211 5,130 4,617 4,123 3,139 1,899 1,807 1,085 1,100 569 2,769 3,082 3,014 3,306 3,458 3,117 2,705 2,447 1,821 1,311 400 80 17,923 4,693 27,649 22,817 45,572 27,510 93, 151 211, 500 304, 651

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Table 34.—Details of Cases where Permission to terminate Employment was GRANTED (Period covered: 1st August, 1943, to 31st March, 1946) (a) Males

(b) Females

143

Nature of Movement following Termination. 1st August, 1943, to 31st March, 1944. 1st April, 1944, to 31st March, 1945. 1st April, 1945, to 31st March, 1946. Total, 1st August, 1943, to 31st March, 1946. Retained in same industry Moved to other essential or important industry Moved to non-essential industry Lost to industry (ill health, retired, &c.) New position not known 2,843 18,489 1,239 2,779 1,256 7,182 32,575 '2,784 4,797 1,847 6,299 22,528 4,654 3,940 4,696 16,324 73,592 8,677 11,516 7,799 Total 26,606 49,185 42,117 117,908

Mature of Movement following Termination. 1st August, 1943, to 31st March, 1944. 1st April, 1944, to 31st March, 1945. 1st April, 1945, to 31st March, 1946. Total, 1st August, 1943, to 31st March, 1946. Retained in same industry 1,861 3,673 3,204 8,738 Moved to other essential or important 7,619 12,572 7,293 27,484 industry Moved to non-essential industry 521 1,323 2,315 4,159 Lost to industry (ill health, married, &c.) 5,690 10,392 10,928 27,010 New position not known 642 916 1,518 3,076 Total 16,333 28,876 25,258 70,467

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INDUSTRIAL ABSENTEEISM Table 35.—Results of Application of Industrial Absenteeism Regulations

Table 36.—Industrial Classification of Notifications of Unauthorized Absenteeism (Period covered: Outset to 31st March, 1946) (a) Males

(b) Females

144

Outset to 1st April, 1945, to Outset to 31st March, 1946. 31st , March, 1946. 31st March, 1946. Males. Females. Total. Males. Females. Total. Males. Females. Total. Number of notifications 25,464 17,361 42,825 5,517 2,824 8,341 30,981 20,185 51,166 of absence lodged with Man-power Officers Number of notifications 24,994 17,078 42,072 5,969* 3,103* 9,072* 30,963 20,181 51,144 dealt with by Manpower Officers Details of notifications dealt with — (a) Allegation of offence 5,737 4,105 9,842 1,525 926 2,451 7,262 5,031 12,293 not substantiated (b) Warning given to 15,403 10,140 25,543 3,353 1,668 5,021 18,756 11,808 30,564 worker (c) Fine imposed 3,854 2,833 6,687 1,091 509 1,600 4,945 3,342 8,287 Percentage of eases 15-4 16-6 15-9 18-3 16-4 17-6 16-0 16-6 16-2 where fine imposed * These figures include notifications lodged during the previous period but not dealt with until the current period.

Outset 1st April, 1945, Outset Percentage Industrial Group. to to to of Total 31st March, 1945. 31st March, 1946. 31st March, 1946. Notifications. Mines and sawmills 6,822 799 7,621 24-6 Building and construction 3,556 1,325 4,881 15-8 Transport and power-production 1,458 723 2,181 7-0 Engineering and munitions 2,706 284 2,990 9-6 Food-manufacture 4,591 1,416 6,007 19-4 Other industries 6,331 970 7,301 23-6 Total 25,464 5,517 30,981 100-0

Industrial Group. 1st January, 1944, to 31st March, 1945. * 1st April, 1945, to 31st March, 1946. Total, 1st January, 1944, to 31st March, 1946. Percentage of Total Notifications. Engineering and munitions Food-manufacture Textiles and clothing manufacture Hotels and restaurants Other industries 1,292 985 3,050 1,977 1,928 136 212 776 998 702 1,428 1,197 3,826 2,975 2,630 11*9 9-9 31-7 24-7 21-8 Total .. .. 9,232 2,824 12,056 100-0 * Figures relating to females are not available prior to January, 1944.

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OPERATIONS OF INDUSTRIAL MAN-POWER APPEAL COMMITTEES Table 37.—Results of Appeals against Directions into Essential Work

Table 38. —Results of Appeals against Decisions regarding Termination of Employment in Essential Undertakings

145

(Period covered : Outset to 31st March, 1946) Outset to 31st March, 1945. 1st April, 31st Mar , 1945, to ch, 1946. Outset to 31st March, 1946. Males. Females. (a) Appeals from employers against directions by District Manpower Officers Number of appeals dealt with in 2,311 197 523 3,031 period jDetails of appeals dealt with— Withdrawn 393 (17%) 41 (21%) 76 (14%) 510 (17%). Dismissed 1,050 (45%) 90 (46%) 208 (40%) 1,348 (44%) Upheld 868 (38%) 66 (33%) 239 (46%) 1,173 (39%) (b) Appeals from employees against directions by District Manpower Officers— Number of appeals dealt with in 2,611 518 550 3,679 period Details of appeals dealt with— Withdrawn 470 (18%) 111 (21%) 114 (21%) 695 (19%) Dismissed 951 (36%) 211 (41%) 206 (37%) 1,368 (37%) Upheld 1,190 (46%) 196 (38%) 230 (42%) 1,616 (44%)

1st April, 1945, to Outset to 31st March, 1945. 31st Mar ch, 1946. Outset to 31st March 1946. Males. Females. {a) Appeals from employers against decisions by District Manpower Officers— Total applications to terminate 70,234 18,057 4,742 93,033 (made by employers) dealt with by District Man-power Officers Number of appeals lodged against 978 189 36 1,203 decisions Percentage of appeals lodged to 1-4 1-0 0-8 1-3 applications dealt with Number of appeals dealt with in 941 198* 41* 1,180 period Details of appeals dealt with— Withdrawn 234 (25%) 52 (26%) 7 (17%) 293 (25%) Dismissed 524 (56%) 100 (51%) 28 (68%) 652 (55%) Upheld .. 183 (19%) 46 (23%) 6 (15%) 235 (20%) (6) Appeals from employees against decisions of District Man- - power Officers — Total applications to terminate 160,277 27,868 23,040 211,185 (made by employees) dealt with by District Man-power Officers Number of appeals lodged against 4,875 1,009 287 6,171 decisions Percentage of appeals lodged to 30 3-6 1-2 2-9 applications dealt with Number of appeals dealt with in 4,674 1,086* 322* 6,082 period Details of appeals dealt with— Withdrawn 890 (19%) 246 (23%) 90 (28%) 1,226 (20%) Dismissed 2,220 (48%) 421 (39%) 93 (29%) 2,734 (45%) Upheld 1,564 (33%) 419 (38%) 139 (43%) 2,122 (35%) * These figures include cases lodged during the previous period but not dealt with until the current period.

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Table 39.—Results of Appeals against Fines imposed for Unauthorized Absenteeism

146

Outset to 31st March, 1st April, 1945, to 31st March, 1946. Outset to 31st March, 1946. 1945. Males. Females. Males. Females. Total. Total number of cases where fines have been imposed Number of appeals arising from the imposition of fines Percentage of appeals lodged to cases where fines imposed Number of appeals heard in period Details of appeals dealt with — Dismissed Fine reduced Fine wholly remitted 6,687 268 4-0 262 132 (50%) 42 (16%) 88 (34%) 1,091 47 4-3 50* 35 (70%) 4 (8%) 11 (22%). 509 8 1-6 10* 2 (20%) 2 (20%) 6 (60%) 4,945 219 4-4 218 .115 (53%) 42 (19%) 61 (28%) 3,342 104 31 104 54 (52%) 6 (6%) 44 (42%) 8,287 323 3-9 322 169 (52%) 48 (15%) 105 (33%) * These figures include cases lodged during the previous, period but not dealt with until the current period. Note.—In addition to appeals covered in tables 37-39 inclusive, there have been 157 appeals lodged against decisions of District Man-power Officers regarding the restriction of inflow into industry. Of the 156 of these appeals dealt with, 34 (22 per cent.) were subsequently withdrawn, 60 (38 per cent.) were dismissed, and 62 (40 per cent.) were upheld.

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FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE Table 40.—Industrial Classification of Amounts Paid by way of Financial Assistance to Directed Workers up to 31st March, 1946

147

Industrial Group. Payments to Males. Payments to Females. Outset to 31st March, 1945. 1st April, 1945,to 31st March, 1946. Outset to 31st March, 1946. Outset to 31st March, 1945. 1st April, 1945, to 31st March, 1946. Outset to 31st March, 1946. Farming Sawmilling Building and construction Railways (including Railway Workshops and N.Z.R. Motor Services) Tramways .. .... Motor services Shipping and harbour services Post and Telegraph and radio broadcasting Electricity production and supply Gas production and supply Engineering and metal trades .. Meat freezing, preserving, &c. .. Butter and cheese manufacture Grain-milling and cereal-food making Bread, cake, and pastry making and bread delivery Biscuit and confectionery making Jam-making, fruit and vegetable preserving Other food and drink Tanning Woollen and knitting mills Silk-hosiery mills Flock, felt, sack, rope, &c., manufacture Clothing-manufacture Boot, shoe, and slipper making and repairing Other leather working, <fcc. Laundries, dry-cleaning, and dyeing Other textiles (including furs, umbrellas, canvas goods, &c.) Lime and cement making Brick, tile, pottery, concrete, &c., manufacture Wallboard-manufacture Timber-mills Wooden box and case making .. Upholstering, soft-furniture, and mattress making Glass-manufacture Rubber and rubber-goods manufacture Paint and varnish making Soap and candle making Drugs and chemicals manufacture, fertilizers Paper and cardboard manufacture Carton, cardboard-box, and paper-bag making Printing, publishing, and bookbinding Tobacco processing and cigarettemaking Other secondary industries Commerce and finance Health and social welfare (including hospitals) Defence Departments Lawyers, police, justice, and prisons ' ■ Government Departments, n.e.i. Local authorities .. Hotels and catering All industries £ s. d. 58 9 0 359 "9 10 213 3 8 oil 11 27 12 6 67 1 9 0 16 0 1,807 10 6 68 19 0 184 13 5 7 2 3 12 15 10 135 1 11 52 i8 7 128 10 11 149 16 6 14 9 9 lo' 5 8 .. 71 17 7 30 14 11 160 9 2 18 "5 1 10 911 52 5 11 56* 6 5 15 18 5 7 15 0 18 8 16 4 10 14 3 11 191 17 3 339 11 6 187 17 6 5 6 0 £ s. d. 2,859 14 8 87 17 10 340 4 10 1,092 13 8 16 0 2 70 5 6 2 7 7 6 5 0 36 4 8 0 14 8 755 15 8 252 17 11 666 11 1 14 3 0 175* *1 2 33 13 4 34 6 11 77 5 6 81 3 0 8 19 8 218 15 7 43 6 2 87 2 4 120 0 2 29 i7 2 10 1 1 40 17 1 99 18 5 17 11 0 46 16 3 68 1 4 10 14 6 179 19 9 70 16 2 596 1-3 1 7 16 1 ■59 12 1 "58 5 2 ' £ s. d. 2,918 3 8 87 17 10 699 14 8 1,305 17 4 16 0 2 70 5 6 2 19 6 33 17 6 103 6 5 1 10 8 2,563 6 2 321 16 11 851 4 6 21 5 3 12 15 10 310 3 1 33 13 4 87 5 6 205 16 5 230 19 6 23 9 5 10"'5 8 290 13 2 74 1 1 247 11 6 120 0 2 18 5 1 10 9 11 82 3 1 10 1 1 97 3 6 99 18. 5 33 9 5 54 11 3 68 1 4 12 3 2 196 4 7 85 0 1 788 10 4 7 16 1 399 3 7 246 2 8 5 6 0 £ s. d. 138"i2 10 95'io 1 316"i3 4 22 18 2 23 3 5 108 4 5 13 8 0 132 17 6 376 19 2 1,121 i8 8 8 9 1 20 0 1 1,146 0 0 183 15 5 6 0 8 17 15 1 4 0 0 5 18 4 105 5 6 29 il 0 48 15 11 36"i4 4 2 4 6 469 7 9 139 17 5 25 12 2 1,176 10 7 44 12 11 156 1 11 130 i5 3 £ s. d. 24 0 0 3 "0 1 53 17 4 122 2 3 5 3 11 542"i8 4 3 13 7 3 12 1 164 12 12 7 8 65 3 5 453 19 3 23 19 4 28 9 6 1,568 2 10 98 3 0 2,625 7 2 501 17 11 82* 7 11 45 3 7 8 16 10 - 2 7 7 12 C 9 8 0 8 106 7 4 71.2 6 162 2 3 110 21 3 7 131 17 9 1,627 4 10 126 2 0 123 5 2 6,511 10 9 11 9 2 22 19 8 401**7 6 £ s. d. 24 0 0 3* 0 1 192 10 2 217*12 4 5 3 11 859*11 8 26 11 9 26 15 6 272 5 7 25 15 8 198 0 11 830 18 5 23 19 4 28 9 6 2,690 1 6 8 9 1 118 3 1 3,771 7 2 685 13 4 6 0 8 100 3 0 45 3 7 4 0 0 8 16 10 2 7 7 12 6 9 8 0 8 5 18 4 211 12 10 37* 3 6 210 18 2 110 57 17 11 134 2 3 2,096 12 7 265 19 5 148 17 4 7,688 1 4 56 2 1 179 1 7 532* 2 9 4,480 1 1 8,378 9 3 12,858 10 4 6,107 13 6 15,713 5 8 21,820 19 2 Note.—The above figures include claims for payments which had not been paid by 31st March, 1946.

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NOTIFIED VACANCIES IN INDUSTRY Table 41.—Industrial Classification at Two-monthly Intervals of Vacancies in Industry notified to District Man-power Officers from 30th September, 1945, to 31st March, 1946

148

(Note. —These vacancies cover both essential and non-essential industries) Vacancies for Males. Vacancies for Females. Industrial Group. 30th 30th 31st - 31st 30th 30th 31st 31st Sept., Nov., Jan., March, Sept., Nov., Jan., March, 1945. 1945. 1946. 1946/ 1945. 1945. 1946. 1946. Primary Industry I Fishing and trapping 20 5 4 5 Sheep-farming 446 439 89 85 3 2 2 7 Dairy-farming 328 273 88 46 27 4 2 Other farming 209 173 103128 2 8 2 7 Flax growing and milling 42 30 28 25 1 1 1 1 Bush sawmilling and afforestation 583 565 322 300 6 Coal-mining 150 163 167 183 1 1 Other mining and quarrying 47 46 26 67 Building and Construction Road, railway, hydro, &c., con216 190 157 226 1 struction Housing, &c., construction 1,270 1,493 1,335 1,590 1 8 2 1 Transport and Communication Railways (including workshops 457 411 444 816 27 23 22 and N.Z.R. Motor Services) Tramways 130 65 66 71 1 1 1 Motor services n.e.i. (including 135 120 102 114 7 18 12 14 garages) Other transport services 1 9 4 13 2 17 8 9 Post and Telegraph and radio 63 83 275 341 19 43 27 21 broadcasting Heat, Light, and Power Electricity production and supply 29 35 52 76 2 2. 11 24 Gas production and supply 36 21 25 26 Secondary Industry Engineering and metal trades 669 581 666 817 103 69 87 91 Meat freezing, preserving, &c. .. 15 884 156 96 36 35 32 36 Butter and cheese manufacture .. 141 54 14 7 25 16 8 44 Other food and drink industries .. 86 116 91 118 173 200 253 288 Fellmongering, woolscouring, and 42 23 41 44 1 1 tanning Woollen and knitting mills 19 35 50 69 300 393 455 550 Clothing-manufacture 34 24 37 93 1,226 1,615 1,715 3,489 Footwear and other leather work 103 50 82 120 316 433 586 646 Other textile industries 15 29 2528 217 288 377 461 Timber milling and joinery 72 51 84 116 3 3 1 3 Furnishings-manufacture 130 154 125 159 19 98 38 67 Building-materials manufacture .. 166 199 98 188 7 2 3 Tobacco processing, &c. 4 2 1 2 95 155 239 248 Other secondary industries 111 183 222 344 320 571 721 789

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NOTIFIED VACANCIES IN INDUSTRIES—continued Table 41.—Industrial Classification at Two-monthly Intervals of Vacancies in Industry notified to District Man-power Officers from 30th September, 1945, to 31st March, 1946—continued

149

Vacancies for Males. Vacancies for Females. Industrial Group. 30th 30th 31st 31st 30th 30th 31st 3lst Sept., Nov., Jan., March, Sept. Nov., Jan., March, 1945. 1945. 1946. 1946. 1945. 1945. 1946. 1946. Commerce and Finance Banks, insurance, trustees, &c. .. 11 29 38 54 10 61 107 75 Shops, warehouses, depots, &c. .. 46 188 166 185 57 355 287 285 Stock and station agencies and 8' 9 11 22 10 14 40 36 storage Public Administration and Professional Health, religion, and social welfare 103 139 107 112 807 913 1,050 1,245 Education (not students) 7 3 13 30 59 40 105 Lawyers, justice, and prisons i2 10 11 17 9 25 20 26 Government Departments, n.e.i. 73 108 102 146 270 322 413 270 Local authorities n.e.i. 48 150 92 156 2 13 6 7 Miscellaneous Hotels and restaurants 33 73 48 35 858 1,060 939 743 Miscellaneous professions 5 32 21 21 39 31 77 26 Domestic services 2 37 30 32 149 383 226 288 Others .: 3 22 Total 6,110 7,288 5,608 .7,106 5,152 7,250 7,831 9,929 1 -

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DISENGAGED PERSONS ENROLLED FOR EMPLOYMENT Table 42. —Classification, by Districts, of Disengaged Persons enrolled for Employment at the End of each Month from 30th September, 1945, to 31st March, 1946

150

District. 30th September, 1945. 31st October, 1945. 30th November, 1945. 31st December, 1945. 31st January, 1946. 28th February, 1946. 31st March, 1946. * Males Whangarei Auckland Hamilton Taumarunui Paeroa Rotorua Gisborne Napier .. New Plymouth Wanganui Palmerston North Masterton Lower Hutt Wellington Blenheim .. Nelson Westport Greymouth Christchurch Ashburton Timaru Oamaru Dunedin Invercargill 4 61 3 5 : 15 47 63 32 21 8 8 4 1 12 3 9 56 6 68 16 57 6 13 66 1 11 103 74 21 28 21 11 3 3 5 2 13 54 8 88 28 58 15 5 103 1 *8 4 40 7 . 38 23 27 4 7 4 1 12 3 11 79 8 63 16 26 22 ■8 • 68 2 3 7 5 29 5 20 9 24 3 6 2 ' 2 8 2 17 107 10 62 13 26 16 14 117 10 5 12 25' 8 23 9 61 4 3 1 2 10 3 18 100 7 40 11 33 8 9 71 11 5 5 7 26 13 20 8 20 8 2 2 7 4 11 87 2 16 8 20 6 24 55 13 9 9 74 18 16 1 13 8 2 1 3 7 6 13 82 2 15 8 19 4 Whole Dominion 505 626 512 454 524 368 402 Details of total disengaged males* — Pally employable (21-59 years)— Returned servicemen Others 65 75 53 61 109 64 43 36 108 40 Total 140 114 173 79 . 148 Semi-employable (21-59 years)—Returned servicemen Others • 91 252 72 241 88 235 59 205 46 185 Total 343 313 323 264 231 Juveniles (under 21) .. Aged 60 and over 9 20 4 23 9 19 7 18 3 20 Females Whole Dominion 41 33 28 25 18 19 24 Number fully employable (included)* 3 4 7 9 Notes. —(i) The above figures refer to all persons actually enrolled at each time point and therefore do not signify the numbers who have been disengaged for any length of time. (ii) * Classification of enrolled persons into fully and semi-employable, &c., is not available prior to November, 1945.

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Table 43.—Industrial Classification of Disengaged Males enrolled for Employment at the End of each Month from 30th September, 1945, to 31st March, 1946

151

(Note. —The industries shown are those for which persons are enrolled for employment) Disengaged Males. Industrial Group. 30th 31at 30th 31st 31st 28th 31st Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec., Jan., Feb., March, 1945. 1945. 1945. 1945. 1946. 1946. 1946. Primary Industry 3 1 Fishing and trapping 2 2 4 2 2 Sheep-farming 12 14 8 4 12 7 13 Dairy-farming .. .. 9 15 19 8 24 14 21 Other farming 25 39 20 24 28 22 19 Flax growing and milling 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 Bush sawmilling and afforestation 12 6 2 7 3 5 2 Coal-mining 1 2 3 2 1 1 2 Other mining and quarrying 3 3 3 2 4 3 2 Building and Construction Road, railway, hydro, &c., and construction 26 27 34 35 56 29 72 Housing, &c., construction 24 24 30 25 33 22 22 Transport and CommunicationRailways (including workshops and N.Z.R. 5 3 4 8 5 3 8 Motor Services) 2 1 Tramways 1 2 3 2 Motor services n'.e.i. (including garages) 39 52 27 23 34 22 19 Other transport services 13 32 23 26 22 24 19 Post and Telegraph and radio broadcasting 2 2 5 2 2 3 1 Heat, Light, and Power Electricity production and supply 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 Gas production and supply 2 1 1 1 1 Secondary Industry 26 14 Engineering and metal trades 14 21 28 28 16 Meat freezing, preserving, &c. 76 84 55 35 11 2 2 Butter and cheese manufacture 1 3 4 9 2 2 Other food and drink industries 10 20 5 10 12 8 10 Fellmongering, woolscouring, and tanning 1 1 1 2 Woollen and knitting mills 1 2 3 2 1 1 Clothing-manufacture 2 2 1 7 3 1 Footwear and other leather work 1 4 3 4 5 6 Other textile industries 1 2 4 1 2 4 Timber milling andjoinery 2 3 4 4 8 1 5 4 Furnishings-manufacture 2 1 3 3 2 1 Building materials manufacture 5 7 2 ■ 5 : 5 7 6 Tobacco processing, &c. 14 10 5 Other secondary industries 6 8 5 7 ■ Commerce and Finance Banks, insurance, trustees, &c. 7 11 15 10 12 5 8 Shops, warehouses, depots, &c. 60 48 53 50 77 50 48 Stock and station agencies and storage ,. 15 19 5 6 4 2 2 Public Administration and Professional Health, religion, and social welfare 8 5 4 4 4 3 Education (not students) 3 1 1 1 2 1 Lawyers, justice, and prisons 1 1 2 1 6 6 1 Government Departments n.e.i. 3 1 1 2 3 Local authorities n.e.i. 18 14 6 6 6 6 5 M iscellaneous Hotels and restaurants 21 18 18 14 18 12 11 Miscellaneous professions 9 10 5 8 1 5 6 Domestic services 42 82 60 48 45 42 34 Others .27 30 33 22 34 19 15 Total 505 626 512 454 524 368 402

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PLACEMENTS IN INDUSTRY Table 44.—Classification, by Districts, of enrolled Persons placed in Industry by District Man-power Officers during Months of January, February, and March, 1946

152

Placements of Males. Type of Worker placed. Expected Duration of Placement. Placements District. Fully employable (aged 21-59 Years). Juveniles. Others.* Total. Returned Servicemen included. Three Months and Longer. One Week and less than Three Months. Less than One Week. of Females (Total). Whangarei Auckland Hamilton Taumarunui Paeroa Rotorua Gisborne Napier New Plymouth Wanganui Palmerston North Masterton Lower Hutt Wellington Blenheim Nelson Westport Greymouth Christchurch Ashburton Timaru Oamaru Dunedin .. Invercargill 34 609 146 76 58 75 191 130 197 174 171 3 103 292 119 277 35 77 547 63 101 281 479 122 4 23 3 18 5 5 21 15 4 16 "l 19 20 40 3 6 51 6 15 57 21 62 16 1 4 13 1 34 8 14 29 3 9 35 2 11 5 3 265 7 4 21 84 9 59 694 165 95 67 93 213 164 220 192 216 6 119 346 141 328 43 86 863 76 105 317 620 131 31 251 84 43 22 34 85 111 145 96 112 3 50 193 37 130 20 39 422 41 52 52 265 96 54 632 149 91 44 72 101 93 124 88 193 4 118 290 27 180 36 73 578 51 91 233 237 85 5 54 14 4 21 17 83 55 55 84 20 2 1 55 67 133 6 11 264 19 12 18 262 44 8 2 2 4 29 16 41 20 3 1 47 15 1 2 21 6 2 66 121 2 29 184 5 9 8 42 13 19 17 18 15 4 107 41 922 2 12 22 8 23 2 33 Total 4,360 338 661 5,359 2,414 3,644 1,306 409 1,535 * Semi-employable (aged 21-59 years) and workers 60 years or over.

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Table 45.—Industrial Classification of enrolled Persons placed in Industry by District Man-power Officers during the Months of January, February, and March, 1946

153

Industrial Group. Males. Females. Total. Primary Industry Fishing and trapping 5 5 Sheep-farming 250 , "l 251 Dairy-farming 108 1 109 Other farming .. .. .. 481 1,056 1,537 Flax growing and milling 12 12 Bush sawmilling and afforestation 193 "2 195 Coal-mining 53 53 Other mining and quarrying 23 23 jBuilding and Construction Road, railway, hydro, &c., construction 145 145 Housing, &c., construction 418 418 Transport and Communication Railways (including workshops and N.Z.R. Motor Services) .. 211 1 212 Tramways 35 35 Motor services n.e.i. (including garages) 148 "4 152 Other transport services 72 72 Post and Telegraph and radio broadcasting 61 1 62 Heat, Light, and Power Electricity production and supply 34 34 Gas production and supply 56 1 57 Secondary Industry Engineering and metal trades 409 7 416 Meat freezing, preserving, &c. 571 1 572 Butter and cheese manufacture .. .. .. 26 26 Other food and drink industries 224 40 264 Fellmongering, woolscouring, and tanning 30 39 Woollen and knitting mills 55 1 56 Clothing-manufacture 35 49 84 Footwear and other leather work.. 41 16 57 Other textile industries 53 8 61 Timber milling and joinery 99 4 103 Furnishings-manufacture 47 2 49 Building-materials manufacture 172 1 173 Tobacco processing, &c. 7 6 13 Other secondary industries 196 20 216 Commerce and Finance Banks, insurance, trustees, &c. 23 8 31 Shops, warehouses, depots, &c. 232 34 266 Stock and station agencies and storage 321 7 328 Public Administration and Professional Health, religion, and social welfare 61 81 142 Education (not students) 12 4 16 Lawyers, justice, and prisons 1 2 3 Government Departments n.e.i. 78 15 93 Local authorities n.e.i. 129 129 Miscellaneous Hotels and restaurants 90 103 193 Miscellaneous professions 6 6 12 Domestic services 109 53 162 Others 18 18 Total 5,359 1,535 6,894 :

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SURVEY OF EMPLOYMENT PROSPECTS Table 46.—Analysis of Number of Units and Labour Content in 1939 and 1945 of Particular Industries surveyed during September and October, 1945

154

(Note. —The table below excludes figures for all Government services and local bodies) Industrial Group. Estimated Number of Units in Industry in October, 1945. -Number of these Units surveyed. Labour Force in Units surveyed. Pre-war. October, 1945. Males. Females. Males, j Females. Nurserymen, seed grading and packing Coal-mining, coal carbonization and briquettes Stone quarrying and crushing Sauces and pickles, fruit and vegetable preserving, and jam-making Grain-milling Bread-baking .. .. .. ., Biscuits and confectionery Pastrycooks and home cookeries Sugar-refining Concentrated foods, patent medicines and foods, coffee and spice, and ice-cream Aerated waters and cordials, brewing and malting, and wine-making Tobacco and cigarette manufacture Ammunition and explosives, boiling down and manures, chemical fertilizers, chemical and patent preparations, cosmetics and toilet preparations, ink-making, matches, paint and varnish, polishes (boot and floor), sheep-dip, soap, candle, tallow, and starch manufacture, stock foods and grain-crushing Rubber goods and vulcanizing Timber-yards and replaning-mills Joinery and woodworking Furniture and blind making Coopering and case-making, wickerwork and perambulators Paper-milling, paper bags and cartons and cigarettepaper manufacture Printing, publishing, and photography Woolscouring and fellmongery, and tanning Fur coats and necklets Saddlery and harness and other leather goods Phormium tenax, linen flax, rope and twine Woollen, knitting, and hosiery mills Carpet sewing and cutting, fieete-miHs, and rug and mat making Clothing (excluding hosiery and knitted wear) and umbrella making Footwear-manufacture Footwear-repairing Bag and sack making, mattress-making, and sail, tent, and oilskin Gas production and distribution Brick and tile and concrete products Glass-making, leadlight and bevelling Bituminous roofing, building sheet (plaster and cement), lime and cement, monumental masons, pumice products General engineering, foundries and boiler making, electro-plating, nail-making, range-making, sheetmetal, small machines and equipment Agricultural and dairy machinery Electrical engineering and radio manufacture Ship-building Motor assembly, coach-building, aircraft engineering Motor engineering, cycle (repair and sales) shops Engraving and stamp-die making, and jewellery Brush and broom making and picture-framing Architects and consulting engineers Transport (excluding railways) Wholesale merchants and importers, cool-stores Retail shops Coal and firewood distribution Offices (accountants, solicitors, and miscellaneous) .. Auctioneers Hotels —licensed and private (excluding boardinghouses) Restaurants and tea-rooms Laundries, dyeing, and dry-cleaning Hairdressers Theatres, clubs, <ftc. Total .. 177 138 45 32 42 559 57 556 2 122 180 5 234 73 132 234 374 73 33 578 66 55 178 38 57 25 615 77 456 49 37 140 30 212 666 86 325 39 126 1,381 201 52 194 2,476 1,024 10,479 418 2,243 136 1,353 1,125 176 1,370 714 165 137 41 29 42 529 53 487 1 107 164 5 193 68 125 217 305 64 30 514 62 52 149 27 54 21 612 75 420 44 37 127 28 201 595 82 255 27 98 1,220 177 42 141 2,020 950 9,683 400 2,142 135 1,223 1,056 172 1,292 639 638 4,939 374 488 704 2,320 1,486 449 262 1,032 1,893 221 2,585 360 1,863 2,420 2,854 1,0?8 560 4,551 1,002 220 425 452 •1,691 54 2,286 1,888 569 421 1,784 1,831 518 2,612 8,928 1,267 2,309 549 2,067 7,739 578 219 313 7,306 9,526 23,070 ] ,440 4,834 722 3,850 961 626 1,256 1,670 270 12 6 463 120 498 2,267 1,320 593 ' 97 825 960 99 59 67 371 46 535 1,951 56 372 493 114 2,997 14 12,388 1,783 54 474 87 71 67 51 988 105 595 8 42 845 156 173 57 507 2,861 18,969 161 3,601 197 5,825 2,675 914 1.352 1,149 692 5,705 371 615 707 2,242 1,219 528 265 1,270 2,048 248 2,970 871 1,717 2,596 2,693 996 785 3,768 1,350 183 563 871 2,156 289 2,245 2,115 738 524 1,686 1,899 564 2,924 10,504 1,477 2,493 930 1,636 6,218 594 258 277 8,305 8,875 21,727 1,548 4,548 810 4,088 1,225 866 1,344 1,640 343 26 7 613 134 641 1,432 1,572 7 776 171 759 1,589 242 67 169 367 80 599 2,068 61 258 717 179 3,514 118 12,789 1,892 75 808 101 213 80 54 1,610 131 824 22 93 808 232 188 68 605 2,872 20,260 206 4,070 257 5,737 3,495 '1,249 1,671 1,234 30,265 27,534 126,020 70,760 129,785 78,153

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Table 47. —Survey of Building and Construction Labour Force engaged at 31st January, 1946

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(Excluding ownaccount workers and working proprietors) District. Carpenters and Builders. Plumbers. Bricklayers. Plasterers. Electricians. Painters. Roof Tilers and Fixers. Floor and Wall Tilers. Welders. Riveters. 1 §0 Other Steel Workers. Concrete-workers. Bridge Carpenters. Pile-driving Crews. Compression Drivers. Pneumatic-drill Operators. 1 Earth-moving 1 Mechanical Drivers Whangarei Auckland 263 69 11 14 87 54 5 2 2 1 7 2,406 449 593 72 142 93 157 13 413 1 820 fiO 124 2 22 21 14. 1 ! 3 65 13 62 7 18 5 6 19 47 3 23 13 3 4 2 97 43 3 10 16 24 1 1 Rotorua Gisborne Napier New Plymouth Wanganui Palmerston North Masterton Lower Hutt and Wellington 357 169 218 91 65 69 1 191 44 13 36 57 47 65 81 55 66 5 5 3 2 1 3 5 5 459 101 9,0 36 73 123 2 5 1 308 56 11 7 37 81 2 6 9 552 171 1,796 147 66 473 18 2 58 66 15 145 96 48 56 125 40 499 23 94 ifi 8 3 10 2 24 26 2 1 1 4 6 5 15 111 20 4 15 il 20 1 1 2 15 2 1 322 68 6 17 fi7 73 4 1 1 5 1 8 Westport Greymouth Christehureh 48 98 3 ?A 2 9 8 4 < < 3 3 2 11 1 2 i' 4 5 1,381 78 368 4? 72 16 118 7 240 44 401 37 43 10 0 g 3 10 9 2 1 3 io Umaru 249 64 W 30 48 84 fi 4 5 Oamaru 65 890 25 174 1 56 2 133 44 1% 23 229 31 4 2 24 4 12 2 3 Invercargill 337 83 32 32 72 74 23 5 1 2 2 1 5 2 2 1 Whole Dominion 1 0,847 2,729 530 922 1 ,862 2. ,995 373 60 61 4 19 139 197 43 17 13 22 122 District. a C c Tunnellers. Road-sealing Workers. Culvert Workers. Lifters and Plate-layers. i c \ j? 3 Adzors. Axe and Bushmen. Loco.-Drivers. Mechanics. Stonemasons. Storemen. Lorry-drivers. Labourers. Other Skilled. Other Semi-skilled. Surveyors and Engineers. Foremen. Clerical. Total. Whangarei a 2 1 70 11 5 1 18 9 645 Auckland Hamilton Taumarunui Paeroa Rotorua Gisborne Napier New Plymouth .. 48 2 36 54 7 3 7 78 5 12 2 5 1 55 2 i" 3 30 1 1 250 9 2 2 6 20 1,469 62 3 17 58 51 38 57 84 11 *5 '8 2 4 85 9 'i 2 3 74 1 i i 234 26 "i 7 51 13 11 87 5 *2 15 8 19 8 7 ,525 795 51 221 732 498 555 941 Wanganui Palmerston North Masterton Lower Hutt and Wellington Blenheim 1 .. . 9 5 R 1 4 3 35 56 1 6 I i 5 25 8 40 60 65 57 361 "i 33 is i2 '2 is 13 17 16 91 6 11 9 9 78 627 1,267 427 4.081 2 1 1 3 12 11 239 Neslon 2 5 1 3 76 12 7 10 6 is 718 Westport Greymouth Christehureh 6 4 3 4 2fi 11 4 9 62 13 9 265 34 20 12 1 60 2 48 89 174 3.248 Ashburton Timaru 3 2 1 3 2 13 42 1 3 18 1 4 9 13 6 284 584 Oamaru Dunedin 7 5 2 5 5 25 11 210 4 61 16 3 15 30 8 22 199 2.071 Invercargill 19 1 3 2 26 57 6 11 12 20 839 Whole Dominion 66 45 97 11 193 56 1 86 23 54 492 3,076 283 215 131 < 837 389 26,810

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SEASONAL EMPLOYMENT Table 48.—Graph showing Progressive Labour Content of Freezing-works and Dairy Factories from January, 1941, to March, 1945

Approximate 'Cost of Paper.—Preparation, not given ; printing (1,960 copies), £370

By Authority: E. V. Paul, Government Printer, Wellington. —l 946. Price 2s. 9d.]

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