Grant

ROBERTSON

Employment Spokesperson

27 August 2013 MEDIA STATEMENT

Unemployment stuck at crisis levels under National

Unemployment rates remain at levels seen throughout the Global Financial Crisis, showing there is no brighter future under National, Labour’s Employment spokesperson Grant Robertson says.

“Unemployment is still stuck where it was during the Global Financial Crisis at an average of 6.4 per cent. Long after John Key called the recession over, there is no sign of a brighter future on the job front for many New Zealanders.

“In Parliament today, John Key seemed to think it was a joke that 153,000 Kiwis are out of work. For people who are struggling to pay their rent and feed their families, they need a government who takes unemployment seriously.

The ‘hands-off” approach by the Government has failed to create the 170,000 jobs it promised during the 2011 election, Grant Robertson says.

“In Otago the number of unemployed has reached a 20-year high and Manawatu is suffering its second highest number of unemployed in two decades. That is no laughing matter.

“National has broken its promise. On top of that, those Kiwis lucky enough to have jobs are faced with the lowest average annual wage growth in 13 years.”

National has no practical ideas to grow jobs, Grant Robertson says.

“Disaster recovery and housing bubbles are not sustainable job creation strategies.

“Labour’s policies put job creation at the centre of the economy. We will revitalise our manufacturing and exporting industries, and help industry create more well-paid jobs. A Labour government will also invest in research and development, and work with regions to develop sustainable jobs,” Grant Robertson says.

ENDS

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