New labour market statistics show why National's long-term plan to grow the economy and create jobs matters, National's Finance spokesperson Nicola Willis says.
"It's been a tough few months for employers grappling with real cost pressures and genuine uncertainty, and today's unemployment figure of 5.6 per cent reflects that.
"It reinforces why New Zealand can't afford to let up on the policies that boost employer confidence and support people into work.
"National has a clear long-term plan to do exactly that. We are fixing the basics in the economy by keeping taxes low and government spending down to ease pressure on inflation and interest rates, which is more important than ever when there is so much global volatility.
"We are also growing tourism and international education, investing in vital infrastructure, fast-tracking major construction projects, and giving businesses a real reason to invest in growth through Investment Boost.
"But Labour's response to all of this ranges from ambivalent to outright opposition. They can't credibly say jobs are their priority while working against the very policies driving job creation.
"Then there's the tax question. Labour and its coalition partners want to load businesses up with a suite of new taxes at precisely the moment employer confidence needs protecting, not undermining.
"Broad new taxes as proposed by Labour, the Greens, Te Pati Maori and The Opportunity Party would choke off the recovery we've worked so hard to build.
"And when you look at what Labour is actually offering instead, it doesn't stack up.
"Deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni has held up the party's Future Fund as their flagship jobs policy, yet this morning admitted there's no modelling behind it - no numbers on how many jobs, if any, it would generate and no timeframe for when.
"That's not a jobs plan. It's barely even a slogan.
"National has a long-term plan to grow the economy to create jobs and build New Zealand's future. Labour has no idea whether theirs will even work."
