H—llA

in September, 1946, dropped to 2,934 by 31st March, 1947. Nevertheless, the demand still remains very heavy. A substantial drop in vacancies for skilled employees from 1,912 at Ist April, 1946, to 1,134 at 31st March, 1947, was largely offset by increasing demands for unskilled and juvenile female workers, unskilled vacancies rising from 1,042 to 1,205 and juvenile vacancies from 153 to 595 over the twelve months. While shortage of labour is acute within the Auckland district there are areas on either side where labour, particularly Maori labour, is relatively plentiful, and a number of Auckland manufacturers have shown interest in the possibilities of decentralizing to such areas. 115. The position in some of the more important industries is briefly reviewed below. Engineering and Metal-working Group.—lndustries in this group have shown marked activity over the twelve months. Work on hand has continued to bank up, and this, coupled with expansions of premises which have taken place, has resulted in a rise in male notified vacancies from 269 in April, 1946, to 862 at the end of March, 1947. These include 371 vacancies in the Railway Workshops at Otahuhu. Approximately half of the vacancies are for skilled men, the balance consisting of 239 vacancies for unskilled men and 190 for juveniles. Building and Construction. —Vacancies in the district have been largely influenced by the labour requirements of hydro-electric construction. At peak they touched 488 in June, 1946, but fell away to 108 in November. In general there has since been a tendency for vacancies to rise slowly again in recent months, but only 157 were recorded at the end of March, 1947, including 88 for skilled men. Freezing-works.—The very heavy seasonal demand for labour by the three works in this district provided some difficulties during the months of December, 1946, and January, 1947, when the killing season was at its height. Every possible assistance was given to the industry, and, despite some shortages, the works were able to get through the height of the season satisfactorily. Fertilizer-works, Tanneries, Brickworks, &c.—The demands for labour in these industries, where much of the work is heavy and relatively less attractive, continued at a fairly high level. Recruitments were offset considerably by the comparatively high rates of labour turnover to be expected in such types of work. The provision of departmental camps at Waikaraka and Mangere has, however, enabled the position in these industries to be eased. Vacancies at 31st March, 1947, remained as follows : fertilizer and other chemical by-products works, 82 ; tanneries, 53 ; brickworks, &c., 60. ~ Clothing-manufacture.—Despite a reduction in female notified vacancies from 1,752 at Ist April, 1946, to 1,387 at 31st March, 1947, the demand for female labour, and particularly for machinists, remains acute in the majority of the clothing-factories in this district. The 1,387 vacancies still on hand at the end of March totalled nearly one-half of all female vacancies. Other Industries. —While the industries mentioned above have shown particular shortages, almost all manufacturing industries within the Auckland urban area have been affected by the over-all shortage of labour. Footwear-factories have continued to be short to the extent of over 200 females, while shortages have also been acute in woollen-mill and other textile industries. In the non-manufacturing field the staffing of hospitals has remained difficult with 200 female vacancies still standing on 31st March, 1947, although some headway has been made in improving the position. For males the Railways and the Post and Telegraph Departments show substantial shortages. Outside the urban area the position has not been so difficult. The substantial labour requirements of dairy factories were satisfactorily met throughout the season, while notified vacancies in farming at no point exceeded 130. Throughout the year the shortage of coal and gas supplies has resulted in some hampering of production in those industries dependent upon these forms of combustion. Hamilton Distriet (Estimated male labour force, 36,500) 116. Hamilton district is an important dairy-farming area, and dairy-factories, at the height of the season, require nearly 650 men. Other farming activities include apiaries, vineyards, sheep and pig farms, while the Horotiu Freezing-works, at its peak, employs approximately 700 males. Coal-mines with nearly 1,650 employees, as well as brick-manufacture, are a feature of the Huntly area, while elsewhere sawmills, potteries, and lime, serpentine, and fertilizer works are in operation. Secondary industries in the district had a male pay-roll strength in October, 1946, of over 5,600. The building and construction industry employs nearly 2,400 male workers, while engineering and metal working industries employ approximately 1,200 males. Recent months have seen the completion of the hydro-electric installation at Karapiro, while another is under

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