Grant Robertson
Employment spokesperson

14 May 2013

National breaking election jobs promise

National has broken its job creation election promise to New Zealanders, falling 40,000 jobs behind schedule, mainly due to just 8,000 being created in the last year, Labour’s Employment Spokesperson Grant Robertson said.

“In Budget 2011 National made big promises on job creation. It said there would be 170,000 jobs created over a five year period and campaigned on this at the election.

“With only two years left to run on that promise National is running 42,000 jobs behind schedule, and will need to create more than 100,000 jobs in just two years to keep its pledge.

“National’s record on job creation is woeful. In the year to March only 8,000 jobs were created. While Steven Joyce was celebrating a drop in the percentage of people unemployed that is really caused by the size of the labour force and participation in the workforce. The number of jobs actually being created is low and National is breaking its promise.

“Steven Joyce cannot blame the global financial crisis for this failure. These promises were made with the full knowledge of the economic conditions New Zealand was facing. They are a reflection of a Government that does not have the ideas and policies to support job creation.

“What is needed is a Government that will roll up its sleeves and work with industries and businesses to support job creation. We need to support exporters by changing monetary policy, give Kiwi businesses are fair go at government work, stimulate work in the affordable housing sector, lower power prices for small businesses, provide proper incentives for research and development, and give real attention to skills and training to boost productivity.

“Without action on these issues, National’s promises on job creation are empty. These are not just statistics either. They are real people who are struggling to find secure jobs and support themselves and their families. It’s time that people came first in the Budget, and for National to front up on their broken promises,” Grant Robertson said.

ENDS

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