I—l 7

The following table shows the index numbers of the development in this industry and shows again, in a marked fashion, the increase which has taken place over the period. The index number has risen from 1000 in 1901, for males, to 3142 in 1945, and for females from 1000 to 13250. This latter figure, however, is probably considerably swollen on account of war conditions, and there may be some recession when transport conditions return to normal: —-

Table No. 104.—Table showing Index Numbers of Workers engaged in the Transport Industry from 1901 to 1945

As showing the trends in one particular branch of the transport industry, the followingtable gives the total number of employees of the Railways Department over the past twenty years : Table No. 105. —Table showing the Total Number of Employees of the Railways Department from 1926 to 1945 1926 .. .. .. 17,900 1936 .. .. 17,073 1927 .. -. .. 18,458 1937 .. .. .. 19,113 1928 .. .. .. 18,541 1938 .. .. .. 21,954 1929 .. .. .. 18,536 1939 .. .. .. 24,342 1930 .. .. .. 19,410 1940 .. .. .. 25,710 1931 .. .. .. 18,840 1941 .. .. .. 24,502 1932 .. .. .. 16,114 1942 .. .. .. 23,352 1933 .. .. .. 14,696 1943 .. .. .. 22,237 1934 .. .. .. 14,971 1944 .. .. .. 23,422 1935 .. .. .. 16,048 1945 .. .. .. 24,002 The table displays two very interesting features. First, the very steady rise in the total number of employees in the Railways Department over the period from approximately 18,000 in 1926 to 24,000 in 1945. This rise is, without doubt, associated with the development of industry and population within the Dominion, and indicates the growing use being made of railway transport. The increase would to some extent be accounted for by the increased number of miles of line opened, but not all the increase can be accounted for in this way. To some extent the shortening of the working-week in the Railways Department will also demand an increased staff. Of recent years the Railways Department has taken over many road transport services with a corresponding increase in the staff required. Generally, however, the major portion of the increase can be accounted for by the increase in the volume of road and rail traffic which the Railways Department is called upon to handle. The second important feature of the table is the very heavy recession during the depression years of 1930 to 1936. As pointed out earlier, the tertiary industries are among the first to suffer at any time of economic depression, and this is amply illustrated by the above table. In a report such as this, dealing with population, there is no value in analysing the actual traffic handled, but this would also bear out the above contentions.

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(1901 = 1000) Year. Males. Females. Total. 1901 1000 1000 1000 1906 1357 1545 1361 1911 1692 2518 1710 1916 .. .. 1901 4678 1962 1921 2477 5505 2545 1926 2655 4708 2699 1936 2823 4803 2866 1945 3142 13250 3363