“» Those not in labour force up 43,000

The lame and lazy like their summer holidays too?”

Same as to “Griff”, it appears you have an impression that there is widespread malignering and so going on, so it is easy for people to “choose” to be sick or disabled. Perhaps inform yourself about what has been going on at MSD and WINZ over the years, and what a so-called Dr David Bratt, a staunch “pro work ability” focused ‘Principal Health Advisor’ at MSD has been doing since 2007. The ACC Forum have some information on that man that may give you some needed enlightenment:

http://accforum.org/forums/index.php?/topic/12615-dr-david-bratt/page__p__131480__hl__%2Bdavid+%2Bbratt__fromsearch__1#entry131480

Bratt is also known for following the ideas of a Professor Dr Mansel Aylward from Cardiff University, where he is heading a special department, that has partly been financed by highly controversial insurance company Unum, and as former Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Work and Pensions in the UK he brought in a medical testing regime for sick and disabled, that has been highly controversial and over the years even led to many suicides. Now that kind of system is what your beloved government here is wanting to introduce to NZ also:

http://www.politicus.org.uk/news/new-zealand-%E2%80%98britishstyle-work-tests-concern%E2%80%99-tests-were-developed-by-disability-%E2%80%98expert%E2%80%99-prof-sir-mansel-aylward_1833

You obviously have not been informed about this ‘Future Focus’ policy this government brought in during 2010 and after, which includes work testing sickness benefits.

Also do you not seem to know that since 2007 even, under the last Labour led government, there has been a anything but objective and reasonable “Principal Health Advisor” called Dr David Bratt working for MSD and WINZ, managing and “mentoring” not only Regional Health Advisors and Regional Disability Advisors, but also directly “training” GPs as their selected “designated doctors”, to apply a regime for sick and disabled, which is anything but lenient or fair.

It raises questions of law, when a government agency tries to start trying to influence supposedly “independent” medical professionals, to make decisions that MSD and WINZ “expect”. Now, as far as I know, ACC never went that far.

Dr Bratt is known for his staunch, bizarre claims and comparisons, where he likens benefit dependence to “drug dependence. Now perhaps you “agree” with such mental diversions from reality, but I think that alone will discredit your presumption that a government would allow unemployed to so conveniently “choose” to shift onto a sickness benefit.

See this perhaps (especially pages 3, 16 and 33):
http://www.gpcme.co.nz/pdf/2012/Fri_DaVinci_1400_Bratt_Medical%20Certificates%20are%20Clinical%20Instruments%20too%20-%20June%202012.pdf

There is more to be found under Doctor David Bratt via Google or other searches.

The new employment and unemployment numbers should give serious reason for concern, as there are not the jobs that are needed, so too many are resigning to the fact to stay in study or perhaps leave the country for Australia. Christchurch alone will not fix the economy and employment, I am afraid.

The lame and lazy like their summer holidays too?

I know a few people who’ve looked for work lately, they’ve looked, they’ve found (sometimes multiple jobs).

Does it mean that 30% of under 30′s are on a benefit?

Asians don’t suffer from Post Colonization Stress Dysfunction

No manufacturing crisis eh?

Asians face language problems and racial prejudice in a country of very foreign ways. So it is remarkable they are not “over represented” in negative social statistics.

Any comment Black with a Vengeance ?

Just got Tony Alexander’s weekly email – he agrees that the HLFS is no longer reliable for some reason.

I’d guess as baby boomers hit late 50s / early 60s this number will get pretty large

Why is that?

The only thing saving us from worse figures is the chch rebuild and the unemployed fleeing to Aussie.

I forecast rising unemployment especially for the young.

All the more reason to dump the policies that we can no longer afford: WFF, 0% student loans, Super at 65.

Hear, hear.

Under 20 unemployment rate up to 30.9%

There’s the next group of motivated voters to be bribed. I wonder how much more of my income will be raided to fund the bids?

And mind you, ,the data is actually much worse as John Key is borrowing from the future to mask his utter failure.