Beyer Georgina: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Beyer Georgina: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:606;Page:3340] 
1. GEORGINA BEYER (NZ Labour—Wairarapa) 
 to the  
Minister of Social Services and Employment 
: What recent reports has he received on the state of the labour market? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Minister of Social Services and Employment) 
: 
 Yesterday morning I received the household labour force survey for the December 2002 quarter. It shows continued employment growth: by 8000 jobs in the quarter—all full-time jobs—by 44000 jobs in the past year mostly full-time and by 123000 jobs since the Labour-led Government took office in 1999. That is a reduction to 98000 in the people now on the register—down 8000—and a reduction in the unemployment rate from 5.4 percent to 4.9 percent which is the lowest rate since March 1988 and the ninth lowest unemployment rate in the OECD. 
Georgina Beyer 
: What other reports has he received recently on the state of the labour market? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: This morning I received the  
ANZ Job Ads 
 series for January 2003. It shows that job advertising in major New Zealand newspapers rose by 0.6 percent in January and is now 7.5 percent above the level seen at this time last year. In releasing the figures the ANZ Banking Group’s chief economist David Drage said they showed that New Zealand’s labour market was one of the strongest in the world. He said: “With job advertising levels continuing to run at above 30000 per month coupled with the New Zealand Institute for Economic Research’s December quarter business opinions survey recording relatively strong hiring intentions further employment gains are likely over the months ahead. This looks set to maintain the unemployment rate at around the historic lows now seen.” 
Katherine Rich 
: Can the Minister explain how despite the best economic conditions in a generation the number of people who have been on a benefit for 10 years or more has increased by 10 percent and the number on the invalids benefit has increased by 21 percent while he has been Minister and is this not a blight on a career of so-called blameless excellence? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: For the House’s information I point out—and members can get this information from Statistics New Zealand—both short-term and long-term unemployment has dropped but because short-term unemployment has dropped so sharply we have seen a percentage rise in the long-term unemployed. That is coming down as all unemployment is coming down. 
Dr Muriel Newman 
: Is the Minister prepared to give an assurance to the House that the information in the household labour force survey is correct—that only 5400 people have been receiving an unemployment benefit for over 2 years—when the Government has in fact been paying for 42400 people or can he explain this discrepancy? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: The substance of the question is whether the household labour force survey is a reliable source of information and the answer to that is yes it is. It is the internationally comparable measure that Mr Brash himself when he was running the Reserve Bank indicated was the reliable measure. 
Hon Richard Prebble 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I realise that you are not responsible for Ministers’ answers but here is a Minister who is taking an interesting point. What he has been asked about is the issue that the Government has been paying 42000 people the unemployment benefit for 2 years when the household survey states that the figure is only 5400. He has just said he was asked a different question but it is not what he was asked. He is being asked whether he is concerned about the fact that the Government is clearly paying a whole lot of people the unemployment benefit when the household survey states that they are working. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Let me put it this way: that was not quite the question that Dr Newman asked. I think that the Minister might like to add a little in reply to Dr Newman’s original question. 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: The substance of the question I thought was the reliability of the household labour force survey and I say it is reliable. But I also repeat for the member the fact that the household labour force survey and registered unemployment are two different instruments. One is an administration tool—the people who are registered and looking for work—and the other is the household labour force survey that we get from knocking on people’s doors and asking them a series of questions against criteria.