#nzpol - In episode 27 of Locked Out with Craig Renney, we take a look at the recent Labour Market Data, and look at what’s happening with unemployment, underemployment, and wages. Who is losing, and is anyone winning right now? Hint - it's unlikely to be you. www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0Ex...

Nearly five thousand nights on this set of islands. Never gets old.

#nzpol Unemployment reached a 9 year of 5.3%. The labour market took another turn for the worse - unemployment growing, underemployment growing, fewer hours being worked, and wages are not keeping up with inflation. This data is another sign the economy is not working. A thread

#nzpol On Morning Report today Ingrid said "Should we say green shoots?" in response to a tiny lift in MBIE job ads. Anything that shows a better labour market should be welcomed - but is that really what's going on? The honest answer is not really - job ads are down 30% in 2 years. A🧵

#nzpol Filled jobs out this week - and the number of filled jobs went up - Whoop! That's great news. Only 45,692 jobs to go until we are back to where we were at the election. Something happened in November 2023, and jobs started to fall....

#nzpol The CTU is releasing the latest policy on its programme for the next election - a New Deal for Workers. Fair Pay Agreements. Preventing workers from being forced to be contractors, when they are really employees. Simplifying access to Unions. More at: union.org.nz/wp-content/u...

#nzpol Labour is proposing to create a Capital Gains Tax on property - excluding farms and the family home. That income will help make GP visits free for the majority of people. Is that a better policy than continuing tax-free profits on, say, someone's seventh property? Absolutely. A🧵

Unions are made of workers

#nzpol I never thought that I would see the day when the Public Service Commission was used as an attack arm of the government. National Party polling must be telling them how popular the strikes are, and how unpopular they are. They are afraid. www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

#nzpol Nicola Willis at Budget 25 - I always take pause to celebrate that since our government came to office inflation has returned to normal levels”. The cost of living increased 3% when wages are up 2.4%. The government’s laser-like focus on the cost of living should have gone to Specsavers. A🧵

#nzpol with Andrew Little and the new Labour Councillors, celebrating the victory in Wellington. 31,000 doors knocked on, 8,000 phone calls made. Wellington is in safe hands and has a brighter future.

#nzpol Episode 25 of Locked Out with Craig Renney looks at the singularly most idiotic policy launched yet by the government. Visible from space levels of moronic. Have watch now 😄 youtu.be/8aTWMV6ULIc?...

#nzpol GOOD NEWS ALERT 🚨 Today the government relented to pressure from the @livingwageaotearoa.bsky.social and retained the requirement for contracted workers to be paid at least the Living Wage rate in Government Contracts. Around 5,000 workers will likely benefit from this decision

#nzpol The Reserve Bank has cut the official cash rate by 0.5%. That sounds great. But banks only cut interest rates that much when the economy is in trouble - and not when things are going well. This cut is a sign of economic weakness, not strength. A 😄🧵

#nzpol Sometimes a policy is so stupid it makes you question the very fabric of reality. Decisions so fabulously, almost wantonly dumb, you wonder if we actually live in a simulation. Welcome to the world of removing Jobseeker Support for 18 & 19-year-olds. craigrenney.substack.com/p/a-small-wr...

#nzpol The government has announced that 18/19 year olds, who live in a household where the parents earn $65,529 or more, can't claim jobseekers support. If both parents work 27 hours on the minimum wage - $634 a week - they will be expected to now financially support their adult offspring. A 🧵

#nzpol 20 Economists have penned an open letter to the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance - asking for change. The contents and signatories to the letter are at: craigrenney.substack.com/p/open-lette...

Snap poll on The Panel: Should the power grid be nationalised? Yes 91.8% No 8.2% #NZPol

#nzpol The CTU has today released its report on electricity in NZ. We are calling for electricity generators to be brought back into public ownership - and to recognise electricity for what it really is - a public utility - not just a source of profit. 🧵 www.reimagineaotearoa.nz/publicly_own...

#nzpol Monthly employment data - and there are 4,814 more jobs than this time last month! Whoop. Only 42,746 to go to get us to where we were at the last election. 62 jobs lost every single day of this government, one roughly every 23 minutes. A 🧵

#nzpol with @NZHerald's Mood of the Boardroom showing that even NZ’s executive suite prefer Barbara Edmonds over Nicola Willis, we ask why is the New Zealand economy so bad, and what needs to change to improve it? Watch Locked Out ep:23 now youtu.be/5HnB64l16co?...

#nzpol Do we have to do this all the time? beehive.govt.nz/release/20-mil… It’s not new funding. “the initiative will be funded from Health New Zealand’s baseline”. So it’s actually being cut from somewhere else. We already underfunded the health system at the Budget. This is a further cut

#nzpol Big turnout for the Women’s Day of Action for pay equity. Billions of dollars have been stolen from low-paid female dominated workforces. This government can find huge tax cuts for tobacco companies, landlords, and big businesses - but not fair pay. That must change.

#nzpol Locked Out has had a look at the recent GDP numbers. Guess what? They’re not great, and there is no plan to make it work. Have a watch now: youtu.be/RQgR2S6aaTI?...

#nzpol The minimum wage increased 1.5% this year. Data from Stats NZ shows: - Food prices up 5% - Fruit & Veg up 8.9% - Meat up 9.4% - Bread up 9.5% (white sliced up 41.7%) - Cheese up 14.3% - Milk up 15% - Electricity up 11.4% Laser focused on the cost of living www.stats.govt.nz/information-...

#nzpol Data released by Statistics New Zealand shows that the labour market is even more bleak than feared, with the loss of more than 10,000 jobs in just three months. The data shows that there are more than 50,000 fewer jobs than in December 2023. A 🧵 www.stats.govt.nz/information-...

#nzpol The National Party are at it again. The source of this data is kpi.nz - not official data. A Thread…

#nzpol Big turn out tonight at the Living Wage Election Forum Event. The Living Wage right now puts an extra $172 a week into the pay packet of a full time worker. Dignity at work comes from decent pay for everyone - not from tax cuts.

#nzpol Amazon’s investment in Auckland being announced today by the government “is not new money being pledged, nor new jobs being created. Nor even new data centres being built”. But apart from that it’s totally new. H/T @thomasmanch.bsky.social www.thepost.co.nz/business/360...

#nzpol Nicky: - no boats - no new supermarkets - no-one getting $250 a fortnight - no debt reduction - no jobs - no pay equity - no child poverty reduction - no Central Bank Bosses left - no hope The quiet whispers of leadership must be getting louder

#nzpol Monthly jobs rose this month – great! Except we have 36,734 fewer jobs than at the election. There are 17,573 fewer jobs than this time last year. Total wages have fallen 4% in real terms. If the current economic plan is working – its not working for working people. A 🧵

#nzpol Looking at the past few forecasts from RBNZ, a pattern emerges. GDP. Employment. Residential investment. The recovery from the 2024 recession keeps being delayed. More at: craigrenney.substack.com/p/on-the-cus...

#nzpol Retail trade data out today. The Govts economic strategy right now hinges on interest rate cuts turning up as increased spending. Retail sales are coming back - its just painfully slow. They are still behind where they were at the election

#nzpol I've reviewed the new Treasury Long Term Insights Briefing. Like shoulder pads & telethons, the Treasury thinks the 80s are back in style for fiscal policy. I'm not sure - let's actively shape our future economy, rather than passively watch it shape us craigrenney.substack.com/p/shoulder-p...

From 1 September 2025, the NZ Living Wage hourly rate is $28.95. Read more about the new Living Wage here: livingwage.org.nz/lw25 For a full report on the updated Living Wage rate 2025/26 clock here: assets.nationbuilder.com/nzlivingwage...

#nzpol Unemployment data released by Statistics New Zealand today shows an increase to 5.2%. There are now 158,000 people unemployed in New Zealand, up 28% since the government took office. There is no plan to help, and the data shows even deeper problems ahead. A 🧵

#nzpol Nurses and health care workers are out campaigning today for safe staffing, decent contracts, and a properly funded public health system. They support you when you and your family need help the most. Support them today.

#nzpol Data from Stats NZ today demonstrates how far we have fallen in the labour market. Between June 2019 and June 2023, we put on 225,000 new jobs. Since then, we have lost 31,216 jobs. A filled job is lost every 34 minutes. A thread

#nzpol Delighted to be invited to hear @maxrashbrooke.bsky.social deliver the first IDEA report into welfare and the role that active labour market programmes can play. With rising unemployment this is an urgent & necessary area of research. The full report at: www.ideainstitute.nz/projects-the...

#nzpol Standing with workers affected by the theft of pay equity, handing over a petition of more than 93,000 signatures. It’s been 53 years since the Equal Pay Act and this government is taking us backwards not forwards. Join your union and make this a one-term government.

The CTU is closing signatures at 8am tomorrow on our Pay Equity Petition. If you have signed - thank you. If you haven't - don't wait any longer and sign right now. 330,000 workers affected by the theft of pay equity have already waited too long. www.together.org.nz/fbt_for_pay_...

#nzpol Data released by Statistics New Zealand today shows that the Consumer Price Index rose to 2.7%. This marks the 3rd straight quarter in which annual inflation increased, up from 2.2% in December 2024. The data underneath this figure suggests some troubles ahead. A🧵

I had a great chat with Nathalie Jacques from NZNO about the problems facing Nurses and the health system in Aotearoa, busting some of the myths being thrown around. We also look at the current GDP forecasts from the Reserve Bank. Have a listen at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMw0...

Join us at Parliament NEXT WEDNESDAY to Protect Pay Equity. Tell your friends, tell your whānau, and spread the word—let’s fight back together for working women. #nzpol www.facebook.com/events/71162...

It's not often that I am given to bouts of optimism, such is the curse of being an Economist. But a look back at New Zealand's history is giving me pause for thought. My latest Substack on what 1931 can tell us about today is available at: craigrenney.substack.com/p/its-not-19...

I have had a look at the FamilyBoost Changes - and who they really benefit. All the details at: craigrenney.substack.com/p/familyboos...

There have been a slew of recent indicators telling us that there is real pain in the labour market right now. I have a look at what the latest data is telling us at: craigrenney.substack.com/p/the-labour...

Episode 11 of Locked out with Craig Renney is out - I had a great conversation with Chloe Swarbrick looking at the Green Party Fiscal Strategy which was released last week. Check it out now www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I6T...

Data released by Stats New Zealand today shows that the economy grew on a quarterly basis by 0.8% but fell on an annual basis by 1.1%. The economy is about the same size it was in March 2023 tells you that we have had almost zero (0.3%) economic growth over the past 2 years. A 🧵

#nzpol Minimum Wage increased 1.5% this year. Data just released by Stats NZ shows: - Food Prices up 4.4.% - Beef up 16.2%. Lamb up 20.3% - Cheese up 17.3%. Milk up 13.7% - Electricity up 8.7%. Gas up 15.4% - Rent up 2.8% Laser focussed on the cost of living www.stats.govt.nz/information-...