Over 72,000 Young People Now Unemployed
new-zealand-labour-party
Thu Feb 04 2010 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
Over 72,000 Young People Now Unemployed
Thursday, 4 February 2010, 3:22 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party
**Over 72,000 Young People Now Unemployed
**
Figures revealing over 72,000 young New Zealanders are now unemployed is shocking confirmation National’s talk about ensuring all our youth have employment and training opportunities is nothing more than empty sloganeering, says Labour Deputy Leader Annette King said today.
“Unemployment has leapt to 7.3 per cent in the December quarter and is now at its highest level in 16 years.
“Particularly shocking are the youth unemployment rates, which raise serious questions about the long-term social and economic implications of locking our young people out of the workforce – and about the Government’s so-called commitment to improving their opportunities,” Annette King says.
“The unemployment rate for those aged 15-19 has risen from 25.1 per cent to 26.5 per cent in the last quarter. There are now 45,300 unemployed youth in this group.
“There are a further 27,400 young people aged 20-24 years unemployed – up from 10.9 per cent to 12.2 per cent in the last quarter. That’s a total of 72,700 young people aged 24 years and under now unemployed.
“This flies in the face of promises made by National. It went into the last election claiming, as part of its Youth Guarantee policy, that it would ensure all young people under the age of 18 would be in work, education and training,” Annette King says.
“Nearly a year and a half down the track, it has offered only 2000 student places on the Youth Guarantee scheme – a drop in the bucket when you look at today’s unemployment rates.
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“The Social Development Minister has repeatedly acknowledged the need to get young people into jobs, but has so far created only about 5,000 temporary jobs through the Job Ops and Community Max schemes – again a drop in the bucket, especially considering they are six month jobs only.
“What we are seeing is the failure of an economic plan, underscored by the failure of the Government to get a grip on the seriousness of the situation. As late as December John Key was suggesting unemployment would peak at 7 per cent.
“Labour has repeatedly called on the Government to do more to stimulate employment and to raise the cap on tertiary student enrolments. Surely it’s better for our young people to be in education and training rather than languishing on the dole?”
ENDS
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