Jobless figure ‘appalling’

Press, 25 September 1987, Page 2

Jobless figure ‘appalling’

"Bad news for the Government and appalling news for the nation” was the reaction of the Leader of the Opposition and a former Minister of Labour, Mr Bolger. There could be no more damning indictment of Labour’s economic mismanagement than a record number of jobless, and their hopes of finding employment diminishing in a contracting labour market The latest figures leant weight to the projection by independent economic forecasting groups that

soon there would be at least 100,000 New Zealanders registered as unemployed, Mr Bolger said. The Minister of Employment, Mr Goff, said the figures were unwelcome but showed some levelling off in the rate of increase. The 88,159 in July had been an increase of 22,824 over July, 1986, while the 90,152 in August had only been 19,321 up on August, 1986. Mr Goff said the 1 per cent seasonally adjusted increase in August had been the smallest forsome months and had

been in line with Labour Department forecasts. The Opposition spokesman on employment, Mr Winston Peters (Tauranga), said the figures showed that 11 regions were experiencing their worst unemployment since the Depression. Six regions were experiencing their worst unemployment since records had first been kept. Much worse was yet to come, he said. The Minister and his department were out of touch with what was happening in unemployment.