H.—ll

4

It will bo seen from the above tabic that the minimum wages fixed by industrial agreements are often higher, proportionately, than those fixed in awards of the Arbitration Court, but this would appear to be due to the factors above mentioned. The Court has, in fact, recently laid down the principle that the wages of skilled workers should be about 25 per cent, more than those of unskilled hands —viz., Is. 7J.d. and Is. 3ld. per hour —and several of the awards made during 1919 are based on this principle, Men's Employment Bureaux. Since the establishment of the Department in 1891 the following have been assisted : —

Women's Employment Bureaux. The number of domestic and other female workers assisted was as follows :—

This is 140 less than the number assisted in the previous twelve months, which was in turn some 265 less than in the preoeding year. The fall in the number of servants placed is therefore as great as 20-69 in the two years. This large decrease is, as is well known, due to the continued shortage, of domestic workers. The officers in charge of the several bureaux again call attention in their reports to the urgent demand for domestic workers to assist housewives in coping with their work. The unsatisfied demand for help comes almost entirely from women with young children, whose incomes are barely sufficient to pay the high wages required, even were servants obtainable. As the above, figures show, in Wellington some of the most urgent needs of housewives have been met by the supplying of charwomen and other daily workers. As the engagements arc generally made for only a day or even half a day at a time a great amount of work is involved at the bureau. Even this kind of help has, however, proved of great assistance to householders. The best solution of the domestic-worker question appears to be that mentioned in last year's report and which I again refer to on page 24 of this report, respecting the housing question and communal kitchens and laundries. Factories Act. The following statement shows the movement in regard to the number of factories and factory workers during the past six years :—

The increase in the number of employees is probably due to the fact that positions occupied by men called up under the Military Service Act were largely filled by juniors and girls.

Year. Total. Married. Single. Dependants. Sent to Sent to Private GovernEmploy- meut inent. Works. L891 1918 (twenty-eight years) 1918-19 121,420 3,199 42,873 880 78,547 2,319 156,636 3,005 56,454 64,966 1,618 1,581 124,619 43,753 80,866 159,641 58,072 66,547

Number of Enjj for Char worn Day-w jagements made ien and other ■orkers. Plaoe. Number of other Engagements by Employers and Workers during the Year. Number of other Persons assisted by Reduced Fares only during 1 the Year. Total Number assisted. («.) Those employed for One Day or Half-day only. (6.) Those employed for One Day or Half-day for continuous Weeks or other Periods. Auckland Wellington Nelson Christchurch . . Dunedin 48 4 57 15 116 290 6 91 28 268 208 70 122 206 1.9 384 565 80 274 249 "i Totals 124 531 874 23 1,552

Year. Factorioa. Movement. i Factory Workers. Movement. ' I 1913-14 (before the war) 1914-15 .1915-16 (since the war began).. 1916-17 1917-18 1918-19 13,469 13,937 13,214 12,455 12,485 12,444 94 (increase) 468 „ 723 (decrease) 759 30 (increase) 41 (decrease) 87,517 88,812 83,011 78,188 79,653 82,783 919 (increase). 1,295 5,801 (decrease). 4,823 1,465 (increase). 3,130