Unemployment up 40%

Press, 26 September 1988, Page 3

Unemployment up 40%

By

GLEN PERKINSON

in Wellington

Registered unemployment figures increased nearly 40 per cent in the year to August. The number of New Zealanders registered as unemployed stood at 126,134 — up 35,982 from August, 1987. .... . _ j /-»■£ All 1 QQ Q

That meant nearly 100 people joined the ranks of jobless each day in that year. The number of people on training or work schemes boosted the total unemployed to nearly 150,000. A breakdown of the statistics, released by the Labour Department at the week-end, showed the Christchurch area had one of the worst unemployment records in New Zealand. It also recorded the greatest monthly rise, 629 more unemployed during August. Since the Labour Government came to power four years ago there has been a 93 per cent increase in unemployment nationally. In "'July, 1984, there were 65,207 people out of work.

In Christchurch there were 8650 people registered as unemployed four years ago. Today there are 14,054, an increase of 62.5 per cent, the highest figure for any district in New Zealand. Christchurch also has the greatest number of people employed on partly-subsidised work, with 395. It also has the fifth-highest number of people in training schemes, 889, behind Waikato, Manukau, Northland and the Bay of Plenty. The department’s figures show that unemployment grew 6580 nationally from the end of July, a rise of 5.5 per cent for a month. The total percentage of the workforce out of jobs is 9.4 per cent. The Minister of Em-

ployment, Mr Goff, said it would still be some time before New Zealanders saw “a turnaround in the trend of rising unemployment.” The Government promised to make employment a priority and money would be devoted to “stronger education and training programmes and more comprehensive and active assistance to people to find and create jobs,” he said. Others areas to be hit hard by the rising tide of joblessness were Auckland, with 11,254 — 969 higher than in July, and Hamilton, up 334 to 11,254. Wellington’s unemployment figures rose to 4999 from 4611; Gisborne had 2848 people unemployed. Registered unemployed, excluding vacation

workers and those on training or subsidised work schemes, by districts

at the end of August, 1988, were (July figures in parenthesis):

District All persons Labour % Whangarei 7,580 (7,420) 15.8 Takapuna 1,484 (1,121) 1.9 Auckland 11,426 (10,457) 6.2 Manukau 10,657 (10,049) 8.9 Hamilton 11,254 (10,920) 10.1 Tauranga 3,582 (3,211) 10.9 Rotorua 9,475 (9,137) 15.9 Gisborne 2,848 (2,492) 16.3 Napier 3,489 (3,193) 13.5 Hastings 3,856 (3,777) 14.0 New Plymouth 4,740 (4,618) 11.2 Wanganui 3,386 (3,375) 11.6 Palmerston Nth 5,187 (5,023) 9.2 Masterton 1,793 (1,566) ' 10.4 Lower Hutt 2,711 (2,524) 4.7 Wellington 4,999 (4,611) 5.1 Blenheim 1,660 (1,571) 11.8 Nelson 3,299 (2,985) 12.3 Greymouth 1,822 (1,766) 13.7 Christchurch 14,054 (13,425) 9.4 Timaru 2,732 (2,621) 13.0 Dunedin 8,504 (8,236) 12.0 Invercargill 5,596 (5,456) 13.3