I have oft considered the nature of statistics, ever conscious of the saying, "There are lies, damned lies, and statistics." I have never looked into the definitions Statistics NZ uses for the metrics it produces and I am grateful to you for bringing its definition of unemployment to my attention. I can only say that this is probably one which can only be described as egregious. No wonder you commented that politicians probably love it and bemoan never having thought of it themselves.
I think politicians are relieved and pray to their political gods that this "fog" continues. If it became widely known how unreliable official Unemployment stats really were - a nd likely much higher - they'd have more explaining to do gto the public.
I agree, Frank. It is a sad reflection on the state of politics—the only vaguely redeeming feature is that we are not unique, although I suggest it is like this only because our economy is too small to allow for obscenely wealthy oligarchs.
its just so very depressing that this current bunch of sewer clowns keeps modelling the right wing sewer clowns in that 3rd world shithole of murrikkka.. pissfag peters sucking up to that regime as hard as hes sucked whiskey and rothmans for most of his last 80 years makes me want to barf..muldoons boy going hard out.. HEY WINNIE.. ever heard the name ELLERY WIHONGI.. are you our foreign affairs minister or just a mongrel old stooge.. i suspect the latter.. hoping that the piss and the fags get to you as much as the orange rapists chunder burgers and diet cokes get to him
In my time here in Wellington I have constantly danced around the gig economy here - part-time this, term contract that, self-employed mainly to charge out the hours I worked in other places. One gig I applied for some time back (maybe around that 2013 mark?) was with Stats NZ as an interviewer for I think was called the Workforce Survey. It was limited hours (but flexible! No, not really) and a short-term contract. My interviewer was what I could only call an old-school public servant. He was pointing out the importance of the survey, and how the unemployment figure was hovering around 4% or so at the time. I raised the point that in my position of swinging from short hours to short-term contracts meant that I would have counted as unemployed in between gigs, were it not for the fact that I always had one, sometimes very thin, thread of hours somewhere. How about underemployment I asked, how does it account for that? He didn't really have an answer, and moved on to outlining what the expected on-site hours and times would be for the role, which were sometimes ludicrously stretched throughout a day, but essentially meant I couldn't work elsewhere between those times. Don't think he saw the irony in what he was outlining to someone asking others about their employment. Kinda glad I didn't get the gig, not sure my heart would have been in it really.
That is a fascinating insight, Graham. I suspect thefre are thousands - tens of thousands - of people in your position. (Which is not to lessen your experience.)
It shows the ludicrousness of the system.
I can only hope word spreads until others in the media and political apparatus sit up and take notice.
I have been one of the older gig workers around, but it is pretty much the norm for younger Wellingtonians, even after their studies are over, the work only comes in bits and pieces these days, if at all. And if you are on a supported income (whatever they call the dole these days) you are beholden to reporting income and constant tax code changing if one gig overtakes another's as the main source of income.
I have oft considered the nature of statistics, ever conscious of the saying, "There are lies, damned lies, and statistics." I have never looked into the definitions Statistics NZ uses for the metrics it produces and I am grateful to you for bringing its definition of unemployment to my attention. I can only say that this is probably one which can only be described as egregious. No wonder you commented that politicians probably love it and bemoan never having thought of it themselves.
I think politicians are relieved and pray to their political gods that this "fog" continues. If it became widely known how unreliable official Unemployment stats really were - a nd likely much higher - they'd have more explaining to do gto the public.
I agree, Frank. It is a sad reflection on the state of politics—the only vaguely redeeming feature is that we are not unique, although I suggest it is like this only because our economy is too small to allow for obscenely wealthy oligarchs.
its just so very depressing that this current bunch of sewer clowns keeps modelling the right wing sewer clowns in that 3rd world shithole of murrikkka.. pissfag peters sucking up to that regime as hard as hes sucked whiskey and rothmans for most of his last 80 years makes me want to barf..muldoons boy going hard out.. HEY WINNIE.. ever heard the name ELLERY WIHONGI.. are you our foreign affairs minister or just a mongrel old stooge.. i suspect the latter.. hoping that the piss and the fags get to you as much as the orange rapists chunder burgers and diet cokes get to him
In my time here in Wellington I have constantly danced around the gig economy here - part-time this, term contract that, self-employed mainly to charge out the hours I worked in other places. One gig I applied for some time back (maybe around that 2013 mark?) was with Stats NZ as an interviewer for I think was called the Workforce Survey. It was limited hours (but flexible! No, not really) and a short-term contract. My interviewer was what I could only call an old-school public servant. He was pointing out the importance of the survey, and how the unemployment figure was hovering around 4% or so at the time. I raised the point that in my position of swinging from short hours to short-term contracts meant that I would have counted as unemployed in between gigs, were it not for the fact that I always had one, sometimes very thin, thread of hours somewhere. How about underemployment I asked, how does it account for that? He didn't really have an answer, and moved on to outlining what the expected on-site hours and times would be for the role, which were sometimes ludicrously stretched throughout a day, but essentially meant I couldn't work elsewhere between those times. Don't think he saw the irony in what he was outlining to someone asking others about their employment. Kinda glad I didn't get the gig, not sure my heart would have been in it really.
That is a fascinating insight, Graham. I suspect thefre are thousands - tens of thousands - of people in your position. (Which is not to lessen your experience.)
It shows the ludicrousness of the system.
I can only hope word spreads until others in the media and political apparatus sit up and take notice.
I have been one of the older gig workers around, but it is pretty much the norm for younger Wellingtonians, even after their studies are over, the work only comes in bits and pieces these days, if at all. And if you are on a supported income (whatever they call the dole these days) you are beholden to reporting income and constant tax code changing if one gig overtakes another's as the main source of income.