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Summary
- Lower South Island region has been affected more severely than the rest of New Zealand as unemployment figures in the area has increased.
- Number of people availing JobSeeker in Queenstown Lakes saw a sixfold increase.
- Industries experiencing a shortfall of supply of labour could utilise the unemployed workforce under the right policies.
The effects of the pandemic induced tightening have been felt severely by the lower South Island as unemployment rose in the region. The number of people availing JobSeeker benefits in the area has increased considerably.
Queenstown Lakes, which is a tourist haven, has been severely affected with the number of people relying on JobSeeker increasing from 102 in February to 592 in October, an almost 6-fold increase. Not only Queenstown Lakes but its neighbours including Mackenzie, Central Otago, and Southland have been affected by lower employment numbers.
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High Dependency on Tourism
The labour market started to show recovery around June 2020. However, the figures reflected a sharp spike in the month of September 2020. The unemployment rate rose in the third quarter as companies had to shed workers due to the pandemic related restrictions.
Source: Stats NZ
A three-week lockdown in the largest city, Auckland, led to the sudden slump in the employment figures. The companies forming the hospitality and tourism industry have been affected badly. Thus, tourist retreat like Queenstown has been affected so harshly.
The neighbouring central Otago district was also affected. Mayor Tim Cadogan believes it has to do with the vicinity to Queenstown that has led to the Otago district being the third worst affected district in New Zealand. JobSeeker figures have soared up by 98% in the district since February this year.
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Shifting Cities and Jobs
People could turn towards other means for income generation during lockdown like shifting to areas that have a shortfall of labour supply. The horticulture sector, which saw a decline in the supply of labour, is one such industry in need of workforce. However, this shift sounds easy only in theory and not in practice.
Shifting cities in search of a new job, especially when the circumstances are uncertain, seems like a hard choice to make. Thus, it is expected that the unemployed workforce is unlikely to shift to another area under these conditions.
However, the government’s accommodation assistance of NZ$200 a week is likely to encourage this migration. Mayor Cadogan is hopeful of the same and believes that many people are waiting for the season to hit the peak before they can accept this gamble.
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Issues Beyond Job Loss
The issues faced by many are far graver than job loss. People are grieving the death of their loved ones but are forced to mourn alone because of the border restrictions. Migrant workers could not visit their loved ones during these stressful times.
The North island fared better than the South Island; however, the most affected district in the North Island had an increase of 63% in the number of JobSeekers, which is a sizeable figure.
Community support has been of immense importance in the stressful times as people cope with professional and personal losses. Thus, requests for counselling and therapies have been on the rise. In these times, even small positive pushes could leave behind a huge impact on individuals who are struggling to maintain their livelihood.
