A "think tank", not the Prime Minister, has predicted that unemployment **could** double in the next 2 years, not "a few months".
The warning came from the New Zealand Institute in documents prepared for the summit, and is based on new research published in the United States last month on recessions originating in financial crises.
Institute research director Benedikte Jensen said work done by eminent U.S. economist Kenneth Rogoff showed such recessions were prolonged and associated with "profound" declines in output and employment, New Zealand's Sunday Star Times reported.
On average, real house prices declined 35 percent, with the decline stretching over six years. Equity market downturns lasted for at least three years and half and unemployment rose, on average, by seven percentage points.
The 11.2 percent figure was the result of extrapolating these findings to the New Zealand situation, Jensen said, adding "and the present crisis is arguably more severe than any earlier banking crisis given its global scope."
"However, I am not suggesting unemployment will necessarily be that high," she said. Labor markets had become more flexible, meaning the impact of unemployment might be less extreme today than predicted on the basis of historical averages.
Treasury's latest economic forecasts, released in December, predict unemployment to peak at 6.5 percent in mid-2010.
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In fact, their Prime Minister says this is "unrealistic".
Prime Minister Claims unemployment Rate Will Not Reach High Levels As PredictedFebruary 23, 2009 - 6:26pm
Prime Minister John Key says claims by the New Zealand Institute that unemployment rates could reach 11 percent by 2011 are unrealistic.
The institute warned of the negative impact the global financial crisis could have on the New Zealand economy and recommends supporting local businesses by creating a growth fund.
Despite John Key's doubt that the unemployment rate will reach estimates, he believes the country is in a dynamic position and there will be a turning point.
Otago Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive John Christie says if unemployment rates were to reach eleven percent, a lack of confidence and budget would result in a significant deficit for local businesses.
From:
http://www.ch9.co.nz/node/11034 Someone should go on his youtube account and tell him before he starts fomenting a riot or something.