Unemployed up 1527; total now 48,455

Press, 15 August 1981, Page 3

Unemployed up 1527; total now 48,455

Wellington reporter

A net increase of 1527 in the number of people registered as unemployed in New Zealand in the five weeks between June 26 and July 31 has been announced by the Minister of Labour (Mr Bolger). At July 31, 48,455 people were registered with the Labour Department as being unemployed, including 92 more school-leavers at 3587.

During the five weeks, 26,966 job seekers enrolled with the department and the enrolment of 25.346 ceased.

The. department helped to fill 7851 of the 9638 vacancies or subsidised public-sector jobs notified to it by employers, leaving 3774 vacancies for unsubsidised or subsidised private-sector jobs to be filled by the end of July. Mr Bolger said that the biggest reduction in the number of unemployed had occurred in Christchurch (down 152) and Auckland (down 145). The greatest increases had been in Invercargill (up 824), Dunedin (up 327), Timaru (up 236), Hastings (up 175), and Wanganui (up 169). In Christchurch at July 31, 6258 people were registered as being unemployed, compared with 6410 at June 30. The usual seasonal lay-offs had not yet had as great an impact on the level of unemployment in the city as in previous years. By July 31, only 388 seasonal workers had registered as being unemployed, compared with 517 at the' corresponding time last year. Although the number of people registered as being unemployed in Christchurch is fewer than last month, it is still well above the 4889 people registered as being unemployed at the corresponding time last year.

The Labour Department in Christchurch placed 713 people on job-creation schemes in July, bring the total to 3745, which is 280 more than in June. Of those people so placed, 63 were seasonal workers placed under the winter-employ-ment programme. A spokesman for the Department in Christchurch said that fewer schoolleavers were registered as unemployed partly because 86 of them had been placed in basic-skills training under the young persons training programme. Another . 103 young people had been placed under the first-job programme if they had, left school before December- 31. 1980.

Mr Bolger said that of the national total of registered unemployed at July 31, 15,486 people had been enrolled for less than four weeks, 16,490 for between four and 13 weeks, and 16,479 for more than 13 weeks.

Significant increases in the numbers of registered unemployed had been confined to those districts where seasonal work had ended. Northland still rates as the area with the worst levels of unemployment, with 7.19 per cent of the labour force out of work, followed by Hastings (6.4 per cent). Gisborne (5.58 per cent), and Manukau (5.23 per cent). In the South Island, Christchurch, with 4.19 per cent, has lost first place as the worst unemployment area to Timaru, with 4.5 per cent of the labour force unemployed. Blenheim has 3.49 per cent, Nelson 3.31 per cent, the West Coast 2.84 per cent, Otago 2.97 per cent, and Invercargill 3.89 per cent, Mr Bolger said the number of people in fully subsidised

short-term employment under the various publicsector job-creation schemes had increased by a net 1068 to 12.674 in the five weeks. In the three private-sector jobcreation programmes 1219 more people, at 10,031, were being subsidised.

The increase in the number of people in subsidised work showed that more employers and employing authorities were now making use of the private-sector and public-sector jobrcreation schemes.

Figures of registered unemployed in other parts of “The Press”, circulation area, with last month’s figures in parentheses, are: ! Nelson. 841 (838); Blenheim. 474 (485); Greymouth, 387 (398); Timaru, 1033 (797). According to the Social Welfare Department, 33,475 people — 21,745 males and 11.730 females were being paid the unemployment benefit on August 7, including 5310 males and 6036 females aged under 20. The total is down by 150 on the last available figures to July 24. The under 20 figures are also down, by 128 males and 287 females, on the July 24 figures.