Comments on: Welcome to the Jobless Recovery

By: Kai

Kai — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 07:02:03 +0000

“high wage jobs are still going unfilled despite the high unemployment”

Employers have kept wages low in New Zealand for a long time – very little was passed on during the last good-times.

They still won’t pay decent wages – rather leave roles ‘unfilled’, second someone to the role minus the pay rise.

I’m currently employed by one of New Zealand’s largest and most prominent businesses – I think people and especially shareholders might be surprised by how much is done with so little (in terms of pay and skill). Major roles are carried out by people with little to no education and even little to no ability.

Major problems with the product are an inevitable and very public consequence.

But in the end, that’s what you get when you won’t stump up for real talent.

By: OMG

OMG — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 04:01:12 +0000

kinda blows the mind how it can be politically possible to talk about increasing GST.

By: Vanessa

Vanessa — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:51:13 +0000

e National Journal about how high skill, high wage jobs are still going unfilled despite the high unemployment rate. In the article, Julian Alssid of the Workforce Strategy Center warns of an “outsourcing tsunami” if more isn’t done to make our workforce development system more strategic in its approach urnal.com/njonline/no_20100127_1861.php

By: Vanessa

Vanessa — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:22:20 +0000

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/julian-l-alssid/will-a-skills-recession-p_b_420550.html

By: Wayne McIndoe

Wayne McIndoe — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 08:44:07 +0000

Thought provoking article, the unemployment crisis ought to be an issue that the
labour opposition should pick up on. Blaming the last government on our current economic ills (and that is something the public are still falling for) to me is starting to wear a little thin. I am struggling to ascertain what this government have actually done to alleviate unemployment, but as long as they are over 50% in the polls – they just have to cruise on the way they are doing

By: Conor

Conor — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 07:38:30 +0000

an then there is global warming.
as well, this time

By: Jim

Jim — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 02:24:17 +0000

Enjoyed the thought provoking writing – keep up the good work.

Another commentator who’s writing I am enjoying is John Michael Greer. His recent posting at http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com/2009/12/immodest-proposals.html has some interesting suggestions on tax restructuring that NZ could pick up on rather than the tired, discredited ideas of Don Brash, Roger Douglas and Co.

It seems to me that John’s proposed tax structure would dovetail well with our RMA, encourage investment in jobs and nail the inflationary speculation in the finance sector. With the present willingness of Central Government, and apparently the country in general, to consider a different tax structure this would seem an excellent opportunity to consider further these ideas.

By: bomber

bomber — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 03:19:35 +0000

Another well reasoned article popping the spin that has so dominated the mainstream media coverage of the so called green shoots of recovery, thank you Gordon. There is of course a wider debate here about the nature of consumption capitalism – what exactly is normal now? Can we go back to SUV’s, plasma TV’s and cosmetic surgery on credit cards standards of living? Is that economically and environmentally sustainable? I think that Washington concensus neo-liberal Capitalism could well face a crises of legitimacy if the unemployment rate rises above 10%, in the exact same way it faced a crises of legitimacy in the depression, relying on the middle class to spend our economy into normal again presupposes we could do that minus walking into the exact same bubble creation that led to the 2008 stock market collapse. It took 4 years between 1929 and 1934 for the full social effects of the depression to reach its peak with mamy false dawns and new bubble formation. Hoover once famously proclaimed @prosperity was just around the corner@ – he reminds me of John Key with more charisma.

A new managed capitalism minus the free market dogma must be the concensus if a way forward is to rekindle economic growth. The irony I find is that National are wanting to implement the very same free market deregulate tax cut ideaology that helped cause the unchecked venal corporate greed in the first place.

By: Viv

Viv — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:34:08 +0000

Excellent article – it’s time people started demanding that the government did someting major and positive for young people – instead of pouring their resources into supporting commercial ventures such as the rugby world cup, tourism, broadband etc etc – there seems to be no shortage of money when it comes to these. Developing the talents of our nerw generation is top priority, and the present regime is neglecting our most omprtant resource: a well-educated, healthy and energetic population.

By: Duncan Graham

Duncan Graham — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:20:08 +0000

What happens if the Oz economy bounces back in 2010 boosted by the big gas project in WA with its huge demand for skilled workers? If there’s another exodus of Kiwis how will that impact on the scenario above? And what’s going on in the polytechnics – are the unemployed being helped to get training so they’re ready if and when the jobs return? And what sort of jobs? It seems that some industries that have closed recently – particular clothing manufacturers – may never reopen. Others, like the timber industry, may need far fewer employees. What sort of jobs will be available, demanding what sort of skills, in the future? Is there a government agency forecasting these changes and helping frame responses?

By: Kerry

Kerry — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 01:47:54 +0000

Great article, Gordon.

On the subject of how the yong will respond to their lower liklihood of summer employment, perhaps a check-in with Student Job Search in late January would help – plus the corollory check-in with the Student Health Counselling services. Oh, and a few questions to the Enrolments people at the various Universities might pick up a trend, as well.

‘Mummy & Daddy’ can’t keep covering for the lack of income their recently-redundant offspring face, so it’s time to stop having a great ‘lifestyle’ experience at uni – no more tandem Gold Visa card, no more ‘party money’, just pay the rent & eat when you manage it, perhaps learn how to cook for yourself & instead of eating at the uni cafe’s, bring lunch with you.
Nobody is suggesting that their offspring leave Uni, however, as they know there are no jobs for them to fall into instead of studying.
Keeping them locked into a school timetable is probably the safest thing to do, right now. Post-grad has become very popular.

This is causing a lot of existential angst on campuses from the formerly fully-funded young’uns, most of whom have never read Beckett or Sartre. They just expected that the lifestyle their parents had funded (usually with a lot of revolvng credit) would continue until they graduated, got a job, and their own credit-rating.

It’s slowly filtering down to them that the recession is real, that it really is going to affect them, not just ‘the poor people’, and that the jobs they expected to attain are illusory in this climate.