Carolyn Young: Retail NZ CEO on the rising unemployment rate and its impact on the economy

Higher unemployment could continue to be a handbrake on the country's economic recovery. 

More Kiwis are out of work, with unemployment now at a five-year high. 

And Kiwis that are working are earning less, with wages not keeping up with inflation over the past 12 months. 

Retail NZ Chief Executive Carolyn Young told Ryan Bridge that's having ripple effects. 

She says if consumers are earning less, they spend less, and if they're anxious about their job security, they tend to reduce their discretionary spending. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Unemployments at its highest level since twenty twenty, now sitting
at five point two percent. That's sixteen thousand jobs gone
in the last year. Retail's been hit hard, with full
time jobs down two percent last quarter. Carolyn Young is
Retailing z ED CEO with me this morning. Karen, Good morning, whatever.
How are you guys feeling about looking ahead? Is this

(00:21):
the worst it'll get? Do you think for retail? Or
more shedding to come?

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Look, it's really hard to tell. We have an advice
service for our members and we're still every week the
top issues that are being discussed with through our advice
service restructures and closures, So you know, the pain is
still being felt and so could be more more to come.
I would think at this point.

Speaker 1 (00:47):
Hard to keep morale up at the moment.

Speaker 2 (00:50):
It is tough, Yeah, and I think you know, retailers
are trying to really focus on some of the good
work that's being done to keep morale up. But business
owners and certainly in those means, are really struggling around,
you know, how how to make sure that they survive
through this downturn to come out the other side.

Speaker 1 (01:08):
What I mean, everyone's waiting on the reserve Bank to
just pull trigger and keep cutting, cut and cutting. You know,
we'd like it, we'd like them to prune like it's
coming into summer. But but what what do you is there?
You know, are people realistic, business owners, realistic about how
much the government can actually do in a situation like this, Well.

Speaker 2 (01:27):
We really need greater consumer confidence. That's the key driver
for the most discernible retail because if you take out
core essential services where you know people are going to
have to go to the supermarket, they need electricity, detail
in taile, communications and fuel. If they don't, if consumers
don't have anything left in their pocket, then they're not

(01:48):
going to be out buying anything else. If they're not
confident in their job security, they're not going to be
thinking about buying other things. We really have to make
sure that, you know, people are feeling secure in those
spaces to their confidence arise for them to be able
to spend more money in the wider sector. And part
of that will be around you know, interest rates and

(02:09):
mortgage affordability and rent affordability and those everyday expenses.

Speaker 1 (02:13):
Yeah, appreciate that, Karen, Thank you, Carol and young who's
with retailing zed for more.

Speaker 2 (02:19):
From early edition with Ryan Bridge.

Speaker 1 (02:21):
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