David
PARKER
Spokesperson for Finance

24 January 2013 MEDIA STATEMENT
Manufacturing Jobs Declining For Seven Months

Manufacturing jobs have been declining for the past seven months, showing the sector desperately needs a hands-on government willing to take action to create jobs, says Labour’s Finance spokesperson David Parker.

“National’s economy isn’t working for ordinary New Zealanders and nowhere is that more clear than in manufacturing. The Performance of Manufacturing Index is stagnating, in keeping with the trend of 2012.

“The manufacturing jobs index has been negative for the past seven months. There are 175,000 New Zealanders looking for work, many of whom lost their jobs from manufacturing company closures last year.

“The problems are especially bad for manufacturers not in the primary sector, many of whom are struggling to survive.

“National refuses to take action on manufacturing and John Key doesn’t even acknowledge there’s a problem. They’ve left that up to Labour and our fellow opposition parties to set up the Manufacturing Inquiry that begins hearings on solutions on Monday.

“A strong manufacturing sector creates good jobs that pay good wages. That’s something Kiwis desperately need. It also boosts exports. That reduces the staggering $10 billion gap between what we buy and what we sell offshore that we as a country need to close.

“Modern manufacturing using new technology is the future for better jobs, more exports and higher incomes. The only people who don’t understand this are John Key, Bill English and Steven Joyce.”

ENDS

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