Hon Steven Joyce
Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills & Employment
5 February 2014
Greens making stuff up about wages and jobs
Greens leader Russel Norman has joined his Labour colleague David Cunliffe in being caught making stuff up about the
economy, Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce says.
“Dr Norman really does need to be held to account when he alleges National has failed to grow jobs and wages – when the
official statistics show the opposite is true,” Mr Joyce says.
“In the past year alone, 66,000 more people have jobs across New Zealand – the biggest annual increase since 2006.
“And the best source of wage movements is the Quarterly Employment Survey, which the Greens and Labour have agreed over
the years to use as the basis for paid parental leave and New Zealand Superannuation.
“Using this measure, average weekly earnings rose 2.8 per cent over the year to December, while inflation was only 1.6
per cent. So, on average, wages are continuing to rise faster than inflation.
“The gains are more significant when measured on an after tax basis. The average weekly earnings, after tax, have gone
up 25 per cent since September 2008, compared to inflation of 10 per cent over the same period.
“The Greens and Labour continue to deliberately use the wrong measure of actual wage growth by quoting the Labour Cost
Index. In doing so, they are misleading New Zealanders.”
ENDS