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Economist weighs in on wage subsidy scheme extension

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Fri, 15 May 2020, 12:54PM
Photo / File
Photo / File

Economist weighs in on wage subsidy scheme extension

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Fri, 15 May 2020, 12:54PM

The wage subsidy scheme has been extended by a further eight weeks.

Up to a further $3.2 billion has been poured into the scheme, taking the total Government spending on the programme to almost $14 billion.

The devastated tourism sector is set to get a $400 million targeted fund from the Budget, while a $1.6 billion package to boost apprenticeships and industry training has drawn praise from a leading trade training agency.

And that targeted extension of the wage subsidy could  "flatten the curve"  of job losses.

Infometrics economist Brad Olsen told Kate Hawkesby extra funding for retraining will also help people find new jobs.

"For people who have lost their jobs, they probably won’t be able to go back to their old jobs as there won’t be the same demand for those activities."

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