National Will Create Youth Unemployment Crisis
new-zealand-labour-party
Sat Feb 20 2010 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
National Will Create Youth Unemployment Crisis
Saturday, 20 February 2010, 10:56 am
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party
**National’s Dithering Will Create Youth Unemployment Crisis
**
National must stop dithering and listen to the serious warnings being issue by community organisations and business leader on the impact of rocketing youth unemployment, Labour’s Youth Affairs spokesperson Jacinda Ardern said today.
“Over 45,000 Kiwi 15-19 year olds are now unemployed, that is over 12,000 more than for the same period a year ago. The danger now is that many of those youths will stay jobless for a long period of time,” Jacinda Ardern said.
“The sad reality of National’s ‘do nothing’ approach is that Kiwis are staying unemployed for longer. In the last December quarter over 40,000 Kiwis had been without a job for over 26 weeks.
“This shows the Government’s initiatives to tackle unemployment have, at best, been insignificant.”
Jacinda Ardern said the danger of National’s inaction on long term youth unemployment could have serious effects.
“Last week the Salvation Army warned the Government that it wasn’t doing enough to get young Kiwis back into jobs.
“Major Campbell Roberts said ‘failing to address youth unemployment means we are faced with the potential time bomb of resentment and disaffection which will show in rising youth crime, youth suicides and anti-social behaviour’.
“We need to ensure that if jobs aren’t available, skills training and education are for those who can’t find jobs.
“We can’t have tens of thousands of young Kiwis whose first experience of the workforce is long term unemployment and the social problems that come with that.
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“Business New Zealand CEO Phil O’Reilly earlier this month reiterated his concern for those young Kiwis and stressed the Government needs to do more.
“National has had no real plan to address the growing youth unemployment. The number of young people unemployed prove it.
“The Government needs to act now before we begin seeing the serious social problems that it has been warned about.”
ENDS
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