Jobless figures down with students back

Press, 19 April 1986, Page 3

Jobless figures down with students back

Wellington reporter Registered unemployed dropped about 5 per cent last month but almost half the drop was occasioned by the beginning of the 1986 university year. The Minister of Employment, Mr Burke, acknowledged this, saying that the 1400 students who had come off the register had represented a significant proportion of the total.

The figures, given yesterday by the Labour Department, show 54,180 unemployed, a result Mr Burke described as satisfying given that the Government had been predicting 55,000. Even better, he said, was that it was more than 28,000 down on the 82,300 estimate Labour had been given when it took office. Of those on the register 32 per cent had been enrolled for less than four weeks, 35 per cent for four to 12 weeks, 19 per cent for 13 to 25 weeks, and 14 per cent for longer than 26 weeks. The total included 3847 school-leavers, down 510 from February. Significant drops over all were recorded in Auckland, down 642; New

Plymouth, down 270; Timaru, down 204; Rotorua, down 186; and Hamilton, down 181. At the other end of the scale was Dunedin, showing a 193 increase; Tauranga, up 136; Masterton, up 128; and Invercargill, up 101. The Christchurch figure was down 139 on the previous month but still represents 4 per cent of the estimated workforce. The estimate for Nelson is now 3.1 per cent after a drop of 170. For Greymouth, it is still high at 5.6 per cent after a drop of 45 in the number of registered unemployed and, in Timaru, 3.5 per cent after dropping 204.

Blenheim was alone in the northern South Island districts in recording an increase last month although, at eight, it was slight. Unemployment still, however, affects 4.8 per cent of Blenheim’s estimated workforce.

The numbers on fully subsidised work in the districts were: Christchurch, 1176; Blenheim, 148; Nelson, 222; Greymouth, 185; and Timaru, 512.

Of the placements made by the department

across New Zealand last month 36 per cent or 2446 were to unsubsidised work; 16 per cent or 1075 to partly subsidised work, and 3226 or 48 per cent to fully subsidised work. The number fully subsidised is still high at 15,019 and rose 109 in the month, but is down 5701 from March last year.