‘An attack on Wellington’: Capital unemployment up 50% under current government

Thursday, 6 November 2025

Wellington’s unemployment numbers have risen by 50% – just shy of 5000 people – since the last general election brought a National-led government to power.

Latest Stats NZ unemployment figures show that there were 9500 unemployed people in Wellington in the September 2023 quarter versus 14,300 now. The National-led government, with ACT and New Zealand First, came to power after the October 2023 election.

Nationwide, unemployment rose to 5.3%, which is the highest it has been since 2016. Wellington’s rate now sits at 4.3%.

Council of Trade Unions chief economist Craig Renney said the increase could be largely attributed to public service job cuts and the flow-on effects including a loss of confidence. Wellington’s number was lower than the national figure but started at a lower base, he said. It was 2.9% in September 2023.

The numbers were the “human casualties” of the Government’s choices, Public Service Association national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said.

“These figures represent deliberate government choices to dismiss public sector workers. It’s an attack on Wellington and on public services,” she said.

“The dismissals and unemployment are devastating for these people who had more to give New Zealand.”

Wellington-based Finance Minister Nicola Willis said that numbers underscored the importance of the Government's work to rebuild the economy and deliver more job opportunities for everyone.

“I feel for anyone who is looking for work and finding the process difficult,” she said. “Unfortunately, unemployment tends to be one of the final indicators to turn in a recovery.”

She pointed to the Government’s support for the film industry as one of the initiatives to help Wellington. The upgrade for Wellington Hospital and a new Mt Victoria tunnel would also provide the capital with jobs, she said.

But Rongotai MP and Green economic development spokesperson Julie Anne Genter said nearly 5000 people appeared to be the cost of the Government’s economic agenda.

“The Government needs to take ownership of their decision to cut projects, cut thousands of decent jobs, and leave thousands more Wellingtonians unemployed,” she said.

“I urge the Government to come to the table and help create real job opportunities in Wellington. There is important work to be done, for example in housing construction, energy retrofits and conservation, if only the government would fund that work.”

Ōhāriu Labour MP Greg O’Connor said the 50% increase in unemployment “tells the story of the attitude of this Government to Wellington”. As a local MP, he saw the effects daily, from the unemployed in cafes and libraries, to for sale signs on home and closed businesses.

“We are bearing the brunt of a lot of this,” he said.