Employment figures at record low since Labour has been in office...

The Govt. is ecstatic about its employment record - figures have dropped to 26,000 down from 161,000 at its peak.

Assoc. Employment Minister Ruth Dyson claims a generation of New Zealanders who have no knowledge of unemployment. This has to be a positive thing. It means there may not be any inclination for the unemployed to seek a benefit rather than toughing it out finding a job.

The Government claims it has nipped unemployment in the bud. It must build on that. Work and Income should return to having job bulletins in its offices for unemployed people to casually inspect. In fact employment should be returned to a Labour Department responsibility. Income should then be returned to a new Income Support responsibility. The Work and Income Department should be split and disbanded. It is a National Party created social monstrosity designed to subject unfortunate New Zealanders to its authoritarian style of welfare management.

Associate Employment Minister Ruth Dyson says New Zealand is nearing a point of having a generation who will not know about unemployment. She says since Labour has been in office, the number of people on the unemployment benefit has dropped from 161,000 to just over 26,000.That is certainly great news for the country.

She says the cycle of unemployment has finally been broken with those fresh out of school, heading into proper training, apprenticeships and jobs, instead of onto the dole. The Government's new apprenticeship scheme is certainly successful.

Ms Dyson says despite an aging population, the total number of beneficiaries has dropped 35 percent in the last seven years.

The Government needs to discover why so many other people are on sickness or invalid benefits. They need to encourage employers to take on physically and intellectually handicapped people who are capable of working into their workforces on minimum wages at least.