Unemployment rate sign of sick economy

The Government’s claim that the number of people in employment has increased over the  past six months misses the point that most were only able to find part-time work, says Labour’s Employment Spokesperson Su’a William Sio.

“In the last six months, the number of people in full-time work has in fact fallen by 16,000 while those employed part-time has gone up by 29,000. The total increase in the number of people in part-time work since December 2008 is 23,000 or 4.5%.

“The Government is so busy trumpeting its so-called success that it has completely missed the fact that many New Zealanders are only able to find part-time jobs. Many of those people want to work more hours so they can support their families but the jobs just aren’t there.

“The Prime Minister said that the Government was ‘on track to create 170,000 jobs’ when there is absolutely no proof of that. As part of that plan, 36,000 jobs were supposed to be created in March 2012, but only 20,000 materialised.

“Treasury also said that unemployment would be 5.7% this quarter. It is in fact 6.7%. The Government is just making numbers up and giving New Zealanders false reassurance when it is failing to deliver on its promises.

“The unemployment rate for our young people is now 18%, for Pacifika people it is 16%, Māori almost 14% and women 7.1%. That’s nothing to be proud of. In fact, it’s an indictment on this Government’s economic record.

“We must invest in growing our economy so that New Zealanders can earn a decent living and get ahead. At the moment they’re working harder than ever, but earning less. That’s not the brighter future that National promised,” said Su’a William Sio.