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Brad Olsen: People want work but there's a skills mis-match

Published: Nov. 4, 2020, 10:59 p.m.

New unemployment stats don't show the full picture.
Stats NZ show unemployment has risen to 5.3 per cent, slightly better than expected.
The number of unemployed people rose by 37-thousand to hit 151-thousand in the September quarter - after warnings it could rise by almost double that.
Infometrics senior economist Brad Olsen told Mike Hosking it's reassuring, but there are other factors to consider.
He says there are people who are working fewer hours, and also those who don't have a job, but who aren't actively looking for work.
The under-utilisation rate - where people have some work but want more - rose to 13.2 percent, with women impacted almost six percent more than men.
Olsen says many jobseekers don't suit what's available.
He says many people want to work but there's a skills mis-match, which has been exacerbated lately.
 
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