Seymour on employment data: Recovery in sight if we stay the course

Responding to just-released unemployment figures for the last quarter of 2025, ACT Leader David Seymour says:

“Looking back through the rearview window at the months of October to December, we’ve seen unemployment tick up by a fraction. It’s a reminder that times have been tough. But it comes in contrast with almost every other economic statistic right now showing positivity in things like spending, and optimism about the future. And usually in an economic cycle, job creation follows positivity in business.

“It’s also a reminder of why we can’t afford a reckless anti-growth, anti-business government that taxes and regulates New Zealanders harder. A change in government would reverse our progress, putting recovery at risk and a lot of people’s jobs in danger. That’s why it’s critical that, this year, we keep the Government – and make it better.

“We must stay the course and keep turning the ocean liner around. There’s a lot to be done this side of the election, from Brooke van Velden’s reforms to give employers more confidence to hire, to Simon Court’s replacement of resource management laws making it easier to develop the land.

"Andrew Hoggard is freeing up farmers, our most productive sector, to farm, Nicole McKee is removing the business headaches caused by our anti-money laundering rules, and I'm reforming overseas investment so Kiwi firms can get the capital they need to grow and employ.

"So, ACT will keep fixing what matters, removing costs on business, keeping a firm hand on wasteful spending, and making it easy to hire and create wealth.”