Nothing bouncy or humorous about NZ's unemployment rate

Four Auckland Action Against Poverty supporters, including Sue Bradford, who locked on to the regional MSD office in October will appear in the Auckland District Court tomorrow, Friday the 16th of November at 10am pleading not guilty to charges of willful trespass.

Their demonstration was a call for decent job creation - not intimidation.

“Auckland Action Against Poverty's determination to highlight the serious need for decent job creation – not intimidation, stands in strong contrast to Paula Bennett who continues to see unemployment figures as fodder for her attempts at comedy,” says Auckland Action Against Poverty spokesperson Sarah Thompson.

“Judging by Bennett’s flip and dismissive comment yesterday that the job market is ‘bouncy’, she is not listening to the deep concerns of the unemployed and under-employed that not enough jobs are being created.

“Not only were her comments inappropriate they were inaccurate – there is nothing bouncy about the country’s unemployment rate – it is only going one way; up.

“New Zealand's unemployment rate is rising 1.5 times faster than the OECD average. As Bennett would have it, based on her claims made in parliament yesterday, we are suddenly putting in 1.5 times less effort looking for work than the rest of the OECD.

“What research does Bennett have to back up her implication that people are not looking for jobs? The same research that shows that punitive sanctions will move people into work?

“We need decent job creation now – not Bennett relying on populist sentiment and stigma to account for this Government's lack of effective policy.”

ENDS

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