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Robert Reid - Source: ONE News -
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Unions are warning against complacency over the unemployment rate, saying it is not acceptable to stand back and allow the jobless rate to continue to drift up.
The unemployment rate is expected to increase from around 6.5% to possibly even 6.9%, when Statistics New Zealand's Household Labour Force survey is released on Thursday .
National Distribution Union president Robert Reid wants more to be done about the state of unemployment in New Zealand, saying that only about three of the initiatives resulting from the Job Summit have been put into action.
"The hiss and the roar that we saw from the government this time last year with the Job Summit, which even the union gave it about an eight out of 10 for, we've really seen nothing much happening since then," he says.
Reid says given the likelihood that employment will lag the economic recovery, then moves must be made to deal with the factors that aid that lag such as the high and volatile New Zealand dollar. And, he says more stimulus needs to be injected into the economy and the minimum wage raised further.
"If low-waged people had've got about a dollar or more increase in their pay packets from the announcement last week, that would give some stimulus. None of those things are happening and it looks like the government's more pre-occupied with tax and other 'big issues' while people loll on the dole queue," he says.
Reid also says there is a problem with underemployment. He says 60% of the 2,500 people who recently vied for one of the 150 jobs at the new Countdown store in Manukau already had jobs, but those jobs were lower paid, had fewer hours, or were on a casual basis.
Read more about Thursday's
unemployment figures
.
