Jobs and wages

Written By: - Date published: 7:58 am, November 13th, 2012 - 9 comments
Categories: jobs, wages - Tags:

After last week’s unemployment figures gave us at 7.3% the worst jobless rate since National were last in power 13 years ago – worse than through the whole Global Financial Crisis, 2% worse than Aussie unemployment in their ‘slump’ – there was more sobering economic news yesterday.

While Audrey Young was giving the Key cabinet a glowing report card despite them lurching from crisis to crisis (so many crises the Novopay scandal can’t make the front pages after 3 months of stuff ups), the economy continued to struggle.

Seek reported that job adverts are down – maybe 7.3% isn’t the bottom for unemployment.  And for women, worse news: the gender pay gap jumped from 12.85% to 14.15% – the worst rate in 10 years – as they bear the brunt of National’s economy.

Meanwhile, the Tourism sector won’t be picking up the slack, as the number of international tourist nights dwindled with the high dollar.

Still, I’m sure that Brighter FutureTM is just around the corner and we’re lucky we have John Key on hand to stick to his do nothing course…

9 comments on “Jobs and wages ”

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  1. kiwicommie 1
    13 November 2012 at 9:45 am

    Couldn’t agree more, but John Key is doing something i.e. breaking away from Kyoto, cutting wages for youth, raising taxes on the poor, building his police state society (starting with Dotcom, spying on everyone on the basis ‘they could commit a crime’ and bashing up MPs); and when he isn’t doing that he can eliminate local democracy in Christchurch and Auckland. 😉

  2. tc 2
    13 November 2012 at 10:25 am

    Audrey Young pieces should be labelled *ADVERTISEMENT*. Note a token low number in the interests of balance to Parata yet Browncoal get’s a 7.

    What blatant partisan crap masquerading as informed intelligent journalism from another NACT apologist.

    • David H 2.1
      13 November 2012 at 7:45 pm

      Even Paula (I won’t leak your private details) Benefit got a 7 even with the privacy breaches.

  3. karol 3
    13 November 2012 at 10:55 am

    Of course, Key’s answer to the slump in tourism is the whole 100% Middle-earth marketing of NZ, which won’t be very useful in increasing jobs.

    I suspect the gender pay gap has jumped because significantly more men in full time work have become unemployed, while there has been a smaller increase in unemployed women.  This points to employers favouring lower paid, part-time and casual work over secure well paid full time jobs.

    And today Allison McCulloch makes a good argument for PPL, in the Bay of Plenty Times.   She explains why the “meanines” who oppose the Bill are wrong.

    Setting aside the meanies for a moment, the other case made against the bill is its affordability: the Government can’t afford it, and neither can employers, who will simply stop hiring fertile women.

    This is an easy one because it’s not actually about affordability, it’s about priorities.

    If we would rather spend our money subsidising Hollywood producers or agricultural polluters than supporting mothers and babies, then we should say so.

    But we shouldn’t say it’s unaffordable. (There’s still some back-and-forth about the actual price tag, with the best projections ranging from $166 million over three years to around $285 million.)

    As for the business groups, are they really claiming they can’t survive if they have to hold a job open in order to give a mother more time with her baby? 

    It’s a pity she identifies most of the “meanies” as being anonymous bloggers and commenters online.  She should take a look at the meanies commenting under her article, opposing PPL.  Some of them seem to be using their real names -as far as I can tell.

    • bbfloyd 3.1
      13 November 2012 at 12:48 pm

      “Key’s answer to the slump in tourism is the whole 100% Middle-earth marketing of NZ”… An answer?? More like just another “claytons” strategy….

      Laughably stupid, yet once again swallowed unquestioningly by those we are supposed to trust to inform us of the truth…..

      • Dr Terry 3.1.1
        13 November 2012 at 2:04 pm

        Good grief, bb, you must do a hell of a lot of laughing! The way the country is going, I am sure you see as one big joke. Who, exactly, do you believe has a hold on whatever the elusive “truth” might happen to be?

  4. fabregas4 4
    13 November 2012 at 12:23 pm

    I think everyone in that article started off with 3 points. Then it is probably about right.

  5. the pink postman 5
    13 November 2012 at 2:50 pm

    Audrey Young must be living in cuckoo land .Either that or she is hoping to stand in a safe Nat seat at the next election. One thing is certain as a political commentator she would get a zero . It time the Herald had a few decent unbiased commentators instead of the Right-Wing hacks it has at the moments. Its no wonder its losing readers wholesale.

    • kiwicommie 5.1
      13 November 2012 at 9:42 pm

      My advice: Don’t buy the NZ Herald or the Dominion Post. I am much happier ever since I switched off the box as well. The bile the ex-Murdoch papers spread is so thin it couldn’t be spread over toast, let alone enlighten a brain cell. xD