H—ll

Over the past year there lias been a steady demand for farm workers, and immigrant labour has played an important part in filling these vacancies. Many buildings in the Frankton area were severely damaged by a tornado which struck the city. Additional supplies of cement and materials were diverted to the district to assist in repairing the damage. Male notified vacancies have declined over the past year by more than 200. At the 31st March, 1949, these totalled 418. Vacancies for females on the other hand, have risen from 96 at 31st March, 1948, to 143 a year later, including 56 in hospitals. Taumarunui District In this district the employment position has remained comparatively static. Vacancies for males were 134 at the 31st March, 1949, this total being identical with the number of vacancies notified twelve months earlier. Only very minor changes in the composition of vacancies has occurred over the period. A, similar situation exists in respect of female vacancies. At the 31st March, 1949, these totalled 30, which was only 4 lower than in the corresponding period of the previous year. During the year the Department placed 99 workers in employment (70 males and 29 females), and only one case of unemployment occurred. This case was of short duration. Paeroa District During the past year there has been an easing in the demand for labour, notified vacancies for males and females at 31st March, 1949, being 67, compared with 177 at 31st March, 1948. Vacancies for females declined sharply (from 67 in June, 1948, to 8 at 31st March, 1949), due to a reduction in vacancies in hospitals and in clothingmanufacture. A similar downward trend is discernible in vacancies for males. Although these rose from 114 at the 31st March, 1948, to a peak of 127 at the end of September, they thereafter fell to 59 at 31st March, 1949. The numbers engaged in the gold-mining industry in Waihi have fallen from 519 in April, 1948, to 480 in April, 1949, and with the gradual closing down of operations over the next two years many workers will become available for other employment. A local planning committee with a Government representative has been set up to explore alternative avenues of employment, including the possibility of establishing new industries to absorb further workers as they are displaced from the gold-mining industry. Tauranga District The population of this district has increased steadily in recent years, particularly in and about the towns where intensive cultivation of fruitgrowing (citrus and small fruit) is leading to closer settlement. The utilization of the district's rich resources of timber has assisted in the development. The development of Tauranga as an export port, particularly in respect of timber, received its first impetus in October, 1948, when a trial shipment of sawn timber from State Forest Service and private plantations was made to Australia. The erection of prefabricated houses for married workers by sawmill-owners and others has been of assistance in obtaining labour in isolated areas. Farm labour offering in the district has been confined to men requiring married accommodation, while in most instances only single accommodation has been available. This has made placement of married farm labour difficult. Notified vacancies for males at 31st March, 1949, were 82 and 17 for females, as compared with 75 and 11 respectively twelve months earlier.

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