Key Hits Unemployment
August 21st, 2009
Continuing his anti-recession “rolling maul” John Key has promised further measures to tackle soaring unemployment on top of a $152 million plan to get thousands of young NZers off the dole. But he has indicated they won’t be as generous as the nine programmes targeting youth. The next measures being worked on will vary in size and in what areas they target. Govt spending in the blitz on unemployed youth is up to $120m over three years.
The youth package includes nine new or advanced schemes. They include subsidising businesses to take on low-skilled young people for six months, paying the minimum wage to those on benefits to carry out community projects, and funding to allow university students to undertake summer research scholarships.
Key says youth are the target of the package because they are the fastest-growing group on the unemployment benefit. Almost a third of the 51,000 people on the dole are aged 18 to 24. In June last year, 4000 young people were unemployed. Now there are 17,000.
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