Employment

Suzanne George has been job hunting for over a year in Wellington. "Demoralising wouldn't even be the word for it," she says.

Major surgical cases have been delayed in some places because of a strike by lab workers at public hospitals in Wellington, Palmerston North, Tauranga, Rotorua, Whakatāne, Nelson and Dunedin.

Unemployment has risen to a four-year high as the recession caused job losses, slowed hiring, and dented wage growth.

Economists say whether it has the right number of people is not a straightforward question to answer.

The worker was left with life-threatening injuries.

Worksafe says it is investigating an incident at a north Canterbury property on Monday involving a forestry worker.

Some beneficiaries will have to prove they are looking for work before they can get back to "green" on the traffic light system.

The union for public servants says the government should be embarrassed by its own data that showed public servants worked less than one day per week from home on average.

In a survey, nine in 10 public servants say they have been affected by restructuring, while one in two are concerned about losing their jobs.

Immigration minister Erica Stanford told the education and workforce committee the visa policy change had attracted a massive amount of interest and coverage.

The staff member was a vet nurse who worked as a kennel coordinator for five years, before she was dismissed for serious misconduct.

The visa policy change for so-called digital nomads has been hailed as a win-win for the country and migrants.