138,000 people out of work need action
new-zealand-council-of-trade-unions
Thu Aug 06 2009 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
138,000 people out of work need action
Thursday, 6 August 2009, 12:15 pm
Press Release: Council of Trade Unions
CTU media release
6 August 2009
138,000 people out of work need action
The Government needs urgently to expand its programmes to counteract the largest quarterly rise in unemployment since 1988 and assist those hit, says the CTU. “In the current financial year the Government has spent $800 million on tax cuts but only $40 million on youth job initiatives,” said CTU Economist Bill Rosenberg.
“The rise to 6.0 percent unemployment is a shocking result, much higher than most predictions and the largest quarterly rise at 1.0 percent since September 1988. There are now 138,000 New Zealanders out of work, an increase of a fifth (20.6 percent) or 24,000 people in the quarter. This is half as big again as this time last year – a rise of 48,000.”
“We are now very worried that Treasury’s May forecast of a peak of 8 percent in late 2010 will be exceeded. At this rate it could reach 190,000 or 200,000 people seeking work.”
“The Government should expand assistance across the labour market, including investment in clean, green and other job creation schemes. There should be an increased investment in skills both in the workplace and in tertiary institutions.”
Women have been harder hit by unemployment, their numbers rising by 15,000 in the quarter compared to 8,000 for men. Unemployment among women is now at 6.3 percent. Over the year, 25,000 more women lost their jobs – an exceptionally large rise of 59.4 percent.
“We note that the size of the labour force has increased, itself probably a sign of financial stress in households as further members seek work to compensate for job losses and falls in income,” added Rosenberg.
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Youth unemployment (15-19 year olds) now has reached 36,600 people or 22.9 percent, getting close to a quarter of the youth workforce. There are now 62,100 young people (aged 15 to 24) unemployed, a rate of 16.3 percent, emphasising that the Government’s youth package announced on the weekend needs to be greatly expanded.
Joblessness has also risen steeply, by 38.5 per cent over the year to 236,100 people out of work and wanting a job. There has been a fall in full time work and a rise in part time work, with the result that the number of underemployed people –part time workers wanting full time work – has also risen to 114,300 or 22.2 percent compared to 16.5 percent at the same time last year.
ENDS
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