Australia's falling unemployment rate is being compared with New Zealand's and the Labour Party is criticising what it says is the Government's lack of commitment to job creation.
Australia's rate has fallen for the fourth consecutive month and is running at 5.3 percent compared with New Zealand 7.3 percent.
Labour leader Phil Goff said today 168,000 Kiwis were unemployed and the Government had done little to help protect jobs or create them.
"Australians are now benefiting from their government's approach by going back to work in their thousands," he said.
"Unfortunately for Kiwis, National Party inaction has meant uncertainty still looms around the job market."
Employment Minister Paula Bennett, questioned by reporters about the difference between the Australian and New Zealand rates, said they could not be compared.
"They never actually went into recession, so that's a key difference with us," she said.
"What we've got in New Zealand is a unique situation where people haven't panicked and they've continued looking for jobs, or more people have started looking.
"It's not so much that employment has gone down but more people are actually looking, and that makes us a bit unique."
Mr Goff said New Zealand's unemployment rate was now at a 16-year high and increased 0.8 percent in the last quarter.
"Kiwis struggling to make ends meet will be looking across the Tasman and seeing unemployment falling, while at home their prime minister want to lift GST to 15 percent," he said.
"You can't blame them for wanting to scratch their heads."
