More Still To Be Done On Unemployment says CTU

“Unemployment in New Zealand remains among the lowest in the OECD, but we need to keep doing better,” said Carol Beaumont, CTU secretary today.

Statistics NZ’s Household Labour Force Survey out this morning shows unemployment is at the lowest level in 20 years, (3.6% - equal to the position in February) and the labour force grew by 0.7 per cent in the previous 3 months.

“While we welcome the drop in unemployment there are still 79,000 people out of work, and once we add those discouraged or presently unable to work the figure becomes 137,200.”

“This still means there is room for active labour market policies to assist more people into work. While pakeha unemployment is at 2.4%, Maori unemployment is at 8.2% and the Pacific rate is 5.9%. We need an absolute commitment to address this disparity through active assistance to Maori and Pacific workers.”

“There are also still 68,100 people seeking more hours,” said Carol Beaumont.
“The CTU will continue its call for decent work, where we address issues around worklife balance, better pay, productivity and secure hours.”

“Today’s unemployment figures also clearly indicate National’s 90 Day employment bill is redundant - the key labour market issue right now is how to attract workers, not how to sack them,” Carol Beaumont said.
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