The first full week of lockdown cost nearly 400 New Zealanders their jobs every day, National’s Finance spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says.

Statistics from the Ministry for Social Development show that in the week till 21 August a total of 2,717 Kiwis joined the now 220,000 people on benefits.

“Every day nearly 400 families are having to adjust to a new reality without work.

“These figures don’t count the many people losing hours from work, nor the many small business owners seeing their investment in their business being eroded.

“Labour don’t have a long-term plan to address this. Extending the wage subsidy makes sense at the moment but ongoing subsidies can’t hide the huge price Kiwis are paying for the Government’s border failures

“National will secure the border so we can reduce the risk of having to return to ruinous lockdowns.

“We will do everything we can to make it easier for firms to hire – 90 day trials, flexible employment laws, low taxes and innovative policies like JobStart and BusinessStart.

“National’s economic plan of job friendly policies, low taxes and quality infrastructure will revive our economy and restore household incomes for New Zealanders.”