I—l 7

The following table reduces the above figures to index numbers

Table No. 111.—Table showing Index Numbers of Persons engaged in Paid Domestic and Personal Service at various Census Dates from 1901 to 1936

This table shows in a marked way the drift back to paid domestic service during the depression. The trend in subsequent years has been all the other way. There isa general trend away from domestic service, and considerable evidence was adduced to. show that there was a very acute shortage of domestic servants at the present time. The situation is very interesting. As society progresses there is a greater demand for assistance in the home and for such paid domestic services as assistants in hotels, but in actual fact the attraction to this work is very much less than the attraction into certain other types of occupation, and, in general, the remuneration is considerably lower on the average than in those other occupations. Hence the paradox arises that society in its progress is able to afford considerably increased domestic assistance, but the very fact of that social progress makes such domestic assistance less and lessavailable. XIII. GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES The importance of Government employment in New Zealand, whether in the central or the local Government, is well illustrated in the following tables. The first table shows the absolute number employed in the central Government services at thecensus dates in 1921, 1926, and 1936 ; the second table shows the local government employees at the same date, while the third table shows the total central and local Government employees as at the same dates : —-

Table No. 112.—Table showing Employees of Central Government in 1921, 1926, and 1936, classified according to Type of Occupation

89

Year. Males. Females. Total. 1901 1000 1000 1000 1906 1131 1083 1091 1911 .. 1361 1196 1228 1916 1341 1136 1179 1921 1365 1176 1213 1926 1236 1308 1294 1936 1878 1561 1650

1921. 1926. i 1936. - Males. Females. Total. Males. Females. Total. Males. Females. Total. 1. Primary industry 2. Secondary industry 1,552 3,652 70 143 1,622 3,795 1,514 4,993 45 129 1,559 5,122 2,468 12,442 95 195 2,563' 12,637 3. Tertiary industry— (a) Transport and communication (&) Commerce and finance (c) Public administration and professional (d) Domestic and personal 22,438 1,018 8,422 151 1,961 283 2,325 252 24,399 1,301 10,747 403 25,105 1,074 8,299 23 1,599 295 2,201 128 26,704 1,369 10,500 151 26,371 1,596 8,201 151 1,290 458 2,625 302 27,661 2,054 10,826 453 (e) Total tertiary 32,029 4,821 36,850 34,501 4,223 37,724 36,319 4,675 40,994 4. Total 37,233 5,034 42,267 41,008 4,397 45,405 51,229 4,965 56,191