Bennett needs to take the blinkers off
Minister of Social Development Paul Bennett’s much heralded Job Ops is clearly not helping those in the 20 -24 year old age group where unemployment has grown, Labour Social Development spokesperson Annette King says.
“Job Ops was designed to help those in the 16-24 year old age group enter the workforce. While we welcome the small decrease in the employment rate for the15-19 age group, sadly the number of people out of work in the 20-24 age group increased by nearly 5000 people,” Annette King said.
“And the number of people in the 25-29 year-old age group also grew by nearly 2000 people. That is nearly 7000 more people under the age of 30 out of work in just the last three months
“It seems the Minister of Social Development is shuffling the deck chairs rather than helping people into work.
“Paula Bennett needs to take her blinkers and earmuffs off and start listening and seeing what is happening around her.
“The Minister is currently wasting time supporting legislation that attacks beneficiaries when she should be working on things that help people off benefits and into the work force.
“Extending the limited help available would be a positive step that recognises the significant increase in unemployment and that her Government has a role to play in helping get people back to work.
“Her daily slogans of ‘we are backing them’ have worn thin.
“The warnings about the recession not being over have been sounding for quite some time but the Minister has failed to listen and failed to act, and sadly our young people are facing increasing unemployment rates as a result,” Annette King said.
