Encouraging jobs growth

Statement by Hon. Ian Ling-Stuckey, CMG. MP. Minister for Treasury
 25 March, 2023
Encouraging jobs growth

“Creating jobs allows workers to support their families and fulfill their potential. In my Parliamentary statement on Thursday, I outlined PNG’s experience of jobs growth over the last decade, and set out prospects going forward” stated the Treasurer, Ian Ling-Stuckey.

“So what creates jobs in the economy? The answer? The same good policy settings that create growth. Growth and jobs are almost always very strongly linked.

“In my statement, I indicated “During the Grand Chief years of the 2000s, we were creating 15,000 jobs a year in the formal private sector.

“However, from 2013 to 2018, jobs numbers went backwards. Backwards by nearly 30,000 jobs. Once again, let us learn from our mistakes, including remembering someone sitting in the opposition, talking about the importance of jobs, but then fails to mention the loss of 30,000 jobs under his policies. As Minister Don Polye so correctly stated in parliament last week, please come to the debate only if you have clean hands!”

The statement then focused on the most recent information available.

“I am pleased we exceeded our 10,000 jobs per year target in the 12 months to June 2022. Formal private sector jobs growth increased by 9,586 in the year to June 2022, the latest available figures. Most of that growth occurred in the construction sector, reflecting the government’s massive infrastructure spending. In addition, there are an estimated 1,633 new jobs in the mining sector even with the Porgera closure, and 1,640 new jobs in the manufacturing sector.

“The increase of over 9,500 jobs in the formal private sector needs to have added the strong employment gains for our teachers and our doctors and health workers and police. The best available estimate is that there has been an increase in these service delivery jobs by around 4,000 jobs last year."

“Including these public service increases, we estimate over 13,500 jobs created in the year to June, already exceeding our 10,000 formal sector jobs a year target.”

“With the 100 CEO survey that 64% of firms expect to increase the numbers of their staff in 2023, up from 46% in 2022, then the prospects for formal sector jobs is strong” stated the Treasurer.


Authorized by
David Towe
Chief Commissioner of Customs
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