Letter No.129
18 August, 2000

27 July 2000

Business confidence remains low, but not as low as last month. The National Bank says that 39% of businesses surveyed expect business conditions to decline over the next year. Last month, 59% expected business conditions to decline.

30 July 2000

Reports issued by the Downtown Ministry and the Wellington People's Centre say that more than 165,000 households are eligible for special benefits but are not receiving them. See the last issue of The Jobs Letter.

The Bank of America announces it will cut up to 10,000 staff, or 7% of its workforce over the next year. At $US2.06 billion, last quarter's profits are considered to be flat.

31 July 2000

Steve Maharey says that Winz will soon make a welfare services manual available so that beneficiaries and advocacy groups can calculate or check entitlement details themselves. Winz national commissioner Ray Smith says that within a year or two the department will have benefit information posted on the internet.

Over half the long-term unemployed who found stable employment through Winz last year had re-registered as job seekers and back on a benefit by the end of the year. The statistics, according to The Dominion, call into question the way Winz measures the success and effectiveness of its programmes to get the long-term unemployed into work. The government's definition of stable employment is a minimum of 15hr/wk work for three months.

The ANZ newspaper job ad survey is going to begin monitoring the six or seven largest job internet web sites. ANZ Economist Bernard Hodgett says there are 9,000 — 10,000 jobs advertised on the internet but he is not sure how many are residual and how many are new. In Australia, internet job vacancy ads now outnumber newspaper job ads by three to one.

1 August 2000

A shortage of mathematics teachers in NZ is part of an international trend. Recruitment agents from many countries are scouring the world for maths teachers and one British school unable to hire staff, says it has been forced to train its own.

NZ looks likely to sign a closer economic relations agreement with Singapore that is even more comprehensive than the CER agreement with Australia. The agreement will eliminate tariffs and prohibit subsidies in goods and services traded between NZ and Singapore. It is expected to be operating by April 2001.

2 August 2000

A study into extending the Morven Glenavy irrigation scheme in South Canterbury says the scheme could result in 180 full-time (equivalent) farm jobs and millions of dollars in annual increased economic activity. The community is lobbying government to fund the extension.

3 August 2000

Statistics NZ releases figures that show unemployment dropped from 6.4% in March to 6.1% in June. Maori unemployment drops from 18% to 13%, the lowest level in 12 years. While these percentages have improved, there are also fewer people now working.

Four Northland labourers have been recruited by Winz to go to Australia for jobs associated with the Sydney Olympics. Winz's Northland regional commissioner Sharon Brownie says eight workers in the hospitality industry are also expected to be off to jobs in Sydney soon.

4 August 2000

Deputy PM Jim Anderton accuses Reserve Bank governor Don Brash of raising interest rates to stop falling unemployment. Anderton says Brash is fixated on maintaining 6% unemployment as a hedge against inflation.

Maori leaders have greeted with delight the news that 25,000 more Maori have found jobs in the last year. But the same leaders have been struggling to report where the extra jobs have indeed been created. Some have been pointing to the upswing in forestry and tourism, and others to the development of iwi groups contracting for government services. But Ian Mackintosh, CEO of West Auckland's Waipareira Trust, doubts the extent of the reported gains. He says the real test will be whether there will be an ongoing improvement among the long-term Maori unemployed.

Green Party MP Sue Bradford's Social Services Bill is drawn by ballot to be read before parliament. The Bill would abolish the 13 week stand-down for the dole and reinstate eligibility for income support for all students during summer break. Student leader Sam Huggard says that whether the Bill makes it to a select committee is a litmus test of the government's commitment to students.

An economic development trust is proposed for Marlborough. The trust would be responsible for providing businesses with regional information, identifying and pursuing business opportunities and securing funding for projects.

5 August 2000

Legislation is introduced in the US to prohibit the misclassification of full-time workers as leased, temporary, permatemp, part-time, contingent or contract workers. A common practice in the US has been for businesses to wrongly classify these workers, sometimes for years, in order to deny them health insurance and retirement and other benefits.

6 August 2000

NZ Businesses say they are taking on more workers. The Morgan & Banks survey of employers reports that 40% of those asked intend to take on more staff, while 16% say they are reducing staff. This is most positive result since the survey started in 1997.

7 August 2000

The ANZ Bank newspaper job ads survey shows an annual national rise of 5.7%. The increases were in Hamilton 5.5%, Wellington 10.9%, Dunedin 11.1% and Christchurch 32.2%. Auckland ads were down by -1.8%.

The Southland Times says that while the local unemployment numbers have dropped by 1,100, there is scant comfort to be drawn from this news: "The reason our unemployment rate is so low is because so many of us are upping sticks to search for work elsewhere, seeing little prospect here. That's what we need to change."

9 August 2000

Winz's national commissioner Ray Smith explains his department's interpretation of the Special Benefit to parliament's Social Services Select Committee. Smith says that a Special Benefit is short-term assistance to help a person overcome hardship cause by special or unusual circumstances. He says it is not designed to meet a deficit caused by ongoing basic living costs.

The lack of skilled workers in the dairy industry will soon compromise farm production, according to industry sources. NZ Dairy Board's Harry Bayliss says the momentum of the industry has opened up a huge range of opportunities and the industry now needs more skilled staff. Both Massey and Lincoln Universities agree that there are far more agricultural vacancies than graduates to fill them.

The final numbers of jobs to be lost in Massey University's controversial restructuring is to be 58. The restructuring is on hold, however, until a challenge presented by the Association of University Staff is heard in the High Court.

10 August 2000

The Australian economy grew 75,000 jobs in July bringing the jobless figure down to 6.3%. Economist Craig James says that preparations for the Olympic Games is helping to heat up the economy. The unemployment rate in New South Wales is 5.4%, the lowest level there for 18 years.

13 August 2000

Carter Holt Harvey is training staff and finalising the construction of a timber laminating plant in Whangarei. The plant that will employ 110 people will be capable of making huge laminated beams for the domestic and export markets.

15 August 2000

The falling number of social workers at Child Youth and Families Services is creating concerns about the department's ability to do its job properly. An average of three social workers leave the department each week and there is not the qualified staff around to replace them. A report from parliament's Social Services Select Committee says the shortage is endangering children.