Jobless highest since Depression

Press, 6 September 1980, Page 1

Jobless highest since Depression

■Unemployment;, in • New Zealand has? risen about 3000 in the last fortnight, and Christchurch has contributed nearly a third of the increase. ..

There are now 60,608 either registered with the Labour Department as unemployed or on job creation schemes, run by the department, and the number of registered unemployed is .40,351.

Christchurch has 5778 registered, unemployed, the highest since the. Depression; of the 19305, and 18 per cent higher than the' figure of 4889 of August 1, which had:.been;the. previous .highest /total since the Depression. / The industrial reporter of “The Press”’ says that Christchurch is suffering more than any of the main cities per head of population. Auckland, with a much bigger population and workforce than Christchurch,, has ■ . only eight more registered as unemployed than Christchurch; Wellington and Dunedin both have fewer than 2000 people registered; / , .;//J.

/- The : Minister of (Mr Bolger) has attributed

the .'increase to a .seasonal downturn . !in employment' opportunities and difficult.' economic conditions. • Most job seekers were, however, able to find jobs “within: a short- time” through their' own -efforts dr • with -the • help of the Labour Department, He said. “At. the end. of August nearly. 60 per cent, or 23,971, of the job seekers registered with the department had been enrolled for less. than, eight weeks; and only 8 per cent, or 3307,' had been enrolled for longer than .six months,” Mr Birch said. - The president of the Labour Party, .Mr J. .P. Anderton, said the latest unemployment figures" werei only the tip; of ’an iceberg and represented a deliberate Government policy to slash jobs. “Many people who have lost jobs do not bother .to register ‘ — including my own. son, who was out of. work for five months,” Mr Anderton said. “Married women are unable to register, and 120,000 New Zealanders have gone to live overseas during the, last three years.. ‘ '.' \ ; “New Zealand’s lack of economic growth we

have rio<growth at .all —- stems from the failure of Government policies,”-Mr Anderton said. •' ’’

■ ; Labour’s shadow Minister of Labour,' Mr A. J. Faulkner •. (Roskill),! said that a- prediction that unemployment • would reach. 300,000 within, a couple of years, looked now to be an under-state-ment. He said there had been a hugh increase in the number of people on the dole, at a time when seasonal ■ work :, should: be picking up and unemployment should be falling. Mr. Bolger said Mr Faulkner’s remarks were “typical' Labour Party scaremongering.” “The . fact is that ’unemployment’ . tradi-' tipnally peaks about this time of the year,” Mr Bolger said. “With , the advent of summer and the upturn in employment. opportunity being encouraged by the Government the figure will, decline.” ' The ' long-term solution to unemployment was faster economic growth, which was the central aim of the. Government’s economic planning, Mr Bolger said. • •_. The National Council of

the: Federation of Labour will discuss the unemployment problems with Mr 'Bolger next week according to ■ a /spokesman- for Mr Bolger., . . . Mr. Bolger has set aside up to three hours for the meeting ■ op . Wednesday? arranged at the request ofthe F.O.L;

, Labour’s spokesman on employment, Mr E. E. Isbey (Papatoetoe) warned yesterday that the dole queues of the 1930 s Depression would be seen before the middle of next year. Mr Isbey called on the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) who. is at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in New Delhi, to "get himself back to New Zealand and take his. last chance to arrest what is now a desperate employment , and economic situation.

“Instead of . pretending to be a financial wizard at international conferences, let him come home' and show the same interest here in New Zealand,” Mr Isbey said., . . : ;

Christchurch has been one of the hardest hit. according /to the latest figures. ’ . There are now 5778 reg-

istered as unemployed in the Christchurch. employment district, an increase of 889 dr 18. per cent on the figure a fortnight ago. Tile number of people on job creation schemes fell. from 4164' to 3935, a decrease of 229. The Labour Department figures show that 9713 people are registered as unemployed or on job creation schemes.

The department’s district superintendent (Mr W: T. Holland) said that the main reason for'the increase in registered unemployment was the number of temporary workers who were finishing their projects and registering. Under changes in the department’s scheme, the maximum time permitted on temporary work is now 12 months, and when workers complete this they have to register again. The figure of 5778 registered unemployed is the highest since the Depression. It is 18 per' cent higher than the previous highest total of 4889 on August 1, and 29 per cent higher than the previous neak of 4476 in July. 1978'. The number of registered

.unemployed has increased '59 per cent since May J 16.; ; That - cannot be -attributed /only, to seasonal ! factors, as .there are 58 per i cent more registered now /than at the corresponding ■ time last year and 41 per cent more than in September,. 1978; The figures on registered unemployed as at August 29, and the percentages of the estimated labour force (figures for July, 1980, in brackets) included: Blenheim, 443 (414), 3.72 (3.48); Nelson, 897 (744), 3.50 (2.91); Greymouth, 374 (327), 2.88 (2.52); Christchurch, 5778 (4889), 4.19 (3.54); Timaru, 787 (731), 3.45 (3.21); Dunedin, .1874 (2088), 2.56 (2.86 V New Zealand total: . 40,351 (37,120), 3.38 (3.11). The : scheme changes ' came into effect on' August 1, and explain ' why the ; numbers of registered' unemployed has increased while the number of temporary . workers has decreased..

Mr Holland said there had also been a drop of 280 in the number of vacancies notified -by employers in the last month: !708 vacancies were notified in August, compared with 984 in July.