Wellington Well Placed to Handle public Sector Cuts

Media Release
24 August 2011

Wellington Well Placed to Handle public Sector Cuts

Today's public service cuts will provide a kick in the teeth to many but the Wellington economy is resilient enough to absorb them according to the Wellington Employers’ Chamber of Commerce.

“We have sympathy for those who have lost their jobs but the public service harbours a great pool of talent and we are optimistic many will pick up jobs elsewhere in Wellington,” said Chamber CEO Ken Harris.

“Wellington’s business sector is strong and growing - the number of private sector employees has increased 13% since 2000 for example and businesses are reporting a shortage of skilled labour.

“Wellington is well-placed to absorb public sector cuts as it diversifies its economic base but to facilitate this we need to remove barriers to economic growth and increase investment in infrastructure.

“We support the government seeking to improve efficiency in the public sector. This will be good for Wellington as well as New Zealand as a whole.

“We are fortunate to have one of the best civil services in the world. Making sure these skills are organised to create real public sector productivity gains is important,” Mr Harris concluded.

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