Labour’s celebratory social media posts touting a “record 32,880 people moved into work” are disingenuous and only tell one part of the story, National’s Social Development & Employment spokesperson Louise Upston says.

“What Labour aren’t telling us, is that more people were put on a benefit than moved into work across the same time period. That’s 46,437 additional people moving on to benefits.

“In fact, there are currently around 80,000 more Kiwis on Jobseeker benefits than when Labour took office. That is a lot more Kiwis experiencing hardship.

“To celebrate when the reality is that we have record numbers of New Zealanders reliant on benefits is manipulative and a blatant attempt to deceive. I’m calling for Labour to be transparent and apologise for another attempt at obscuring negative statistics.

“The Government need to be looking at the conditions which are causing New Zealanders to require support in the form of benefits. Covid is only part of the equation, rising costs of living, and increases in business costs have put pressure on employers that we cannot afford if we want to bring down those benefit numbers.”