Statistics New Zealand has released the Labour Market Statistics Sept 2015 quarter and the labour market isn’t looking that flash:

• Employed people down 0.4%
• Unemployed people up 6%
• Labour force participation down 0.7%

It puts the current welfare reforms policy in a bit of a pickle given its sole reliance on a growing job market to lift people out of poverty. Might be time to re-think options.

Watch out for the upcoming Vulnerability Report for more discussion on the current labour market environment.