Unemployment level remains steady

Press, 14 August 1984, Page 2

Unemployment level remains steady

OLIVER RIDDELL

By

in Wellington

Unemployment in New Zealand has reached a plateau — the number of registered unemployed and those on special work at the end of July was almost exactly the same as at the end of June. There were 152 more registered unemployed, up from 65,055 to 65,207; three more on private sector jobcreation schemes, up from 18,856 to 18,859; and 54 more on public sector schemes, up from 22,808 to 22,862. Registered unemployment was up significantly in Invercargill (676), Dunedin (430), Napier (186), Palmerston North (169), and Hastings (155), but down significantly in Auckland (627), Manukau (266), Hamilton (200), Tauranga (155), and Takapuna (125). Included in the registered unemployed were 4808 school-leavers, a drop of 587 on the previous month.

Of those registered, 17,991 have been for less than four weeks, 24,355 for between four and eight weeks, 12,302 for 13 to 25 weeks, and 10,559 for more than six months.

The Minister of Employment, Mr Burke, expressed

delight at the figures, and particularly with the drop of 701 in the number of long-term unemployed. There had also been a fall of 587 in school-leavers compared with the June figure, and the July figure of 4808 was well down on the July, 1983, figure of 6207.

In Marlborough, 3.5 per cent of the labour force was registered, but the total number down 49 from 539 to 490, with males down 23 from 334 to 311 and females down 26 from 205 to 179.

In Nelson, 5.2 per cent of the labour force was registered, and the total number had fallen 22 from 1370 to 1348, with sales down 11 from 789 to 778 and females down 11 from 581 to 570.

In Westland, 5.6 per cent of the labour force was registered, and the total number had risen by 35 from 710 to 745, with males up 25 from 449 to 474 and females up 10 from 261 to 271.

In North Canterbury, 5.7 per cent of the labour force was registered, and the totla number had risen by 74 from 8576 to 8650, with males up 135 from 5413 to 5548 but females down 51 from 3163 to 3102.

In South Canterbury, 5.4

per cent of the labour force was registered, and the total number had risen by 21 from 1221 to 1242, with males up 56 from 837 to 893 but females down 35 from 384 to 349. Mr Burke said it was still essential that stable economic policies be implemented to ensure greater reductions in the numbers of unemployed in the longterm.

In Christchurch, the numbers registered as unemployed increased 74 in the month to the end of July, bringing the total to 8650, or 5.7 per cent of the workforce.

The numbers on public sector job-creation programmes fell 267 to 1879, while the number of private sector schemes rose 167 to 2746. At the corresponding time last year there were 1809 on public sector schemes and 1700 on private sector schemes. , At the end of July there were 323 school-leavers registered as unemployed, compared with 514 at the corresponding time last year. The district superintendent of the Labour Department, Mr W. T. Holland, said that this reflected the impact of the School-Leaver Training and Employment Preparation Scheme.