15 November 2012 MEDIA STATEMENT

Another indicator drops – now job ads down

As more grim jobs news piles up, it’s time for the Government to admit it must change tack to grow the New Zealand economy, says Labour’s Economic Development spokesperson David Cunliffe.

“Unemployment up to 7.3 per cent, 175,000 people unemployed, Māori and Pacific unemployment over 15%, youth unemployment (15-19) 25% and Māori youth unemployment even higher.

“Today we find out from ANZ that job ads are down. This is the job series that predicted the rise in unemployment to over seven per cent.

“When confronted about the high unemployment rate John Key and Bill English expressed surprise. They tried to bluff their way out of it and said the number was different from anecdotes and other indicators. Meanwhile Paula Bennett laughs off unemployment as bouncy.

“But after the Quarterly Employment Survey found full-time jobs fell in the last quarter and the Household Labour Force Survey put unemployment at 7.3 per cent, we now see job ads dropped by 0.8 per cent in October, continuing the decline from the previous month.

“How many more indicators does John Key need? The Government is seriously mismanaging the economy.

“National’s economy is stagnating and the Government is failing New Zealanders.

“But still John Key and Bill English insist on following the same tired old hands-off policies.

“The only area that’s growing in this country is Canterbury. That’s the result of a tragedy and insurance funded rebuild, and National can’t take credit for that. The rest of the country is stagnating.”

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