Millions of Brits are out of work and not looking for more.

Official figures show that inactivity is sitting at 9.41 million, or 22.2% of the working age population, which is up 350,000 from 2023.

UK Correspondent Rod Liddle told Mike Hosking that while some of those people are students and people taking early retirement, there’s still a residue of 4-5 million people who either haven’t gone back to work or haven’t started.

He said that he suspects several things are to blame for this: an influx of foreign-born workers, mental illness and ill health, and a lack of incentive and benefits to being in the workforce.

LISTEN ABOVE

Millions of Brits are out of work and not looking for more. 
Official figures show that inactivity is sitting at 9.41 million, or 22.2% of the working age population, which is up 350,000 from 2023. 
UK Correspondent Rod Liddle told Mike Hosking that while some of those people are students and people taking early retirement, there’s still a residue of 4-5 million people who either haven’t gone back to work or haven’t started. 
He said that he suspects several things are to blame for this: an influx of foreign-born workers, mental illness and ill health, and a lack of incentive and benefits to being in the workforce. 
LISTEN ABOVE

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Open your mind to the world with New Zealand’s number one breakfast radio show. Without question, as New Zealand’s number one talk host, Mike Hosking sets the day’s agenda. The sharpest voice and mind in the business, Mike drives strong opinion, delivers the best talent, and always leaves you wanting more. The Mike Hosking Breakfast always cuts through and delivers the best daily on Newstalk ZB.

Open your mind to the world with New Zealand’s number one breakfast radio show.

Without question, as New Zealand’s number one talk host, Mike Hosking sets the day’s agenda.

The sharpest voice and mind in the business, Mike drives strong opinion,...

The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Rod Liddle: UK Correspondent on the high inactivity number in the UK, with 9.41 million people out of work

The great crime out of Adrian Orr's move is you can't trust him.

A central bank is supposed to get the economy and he and his committee clearly don’t.

Don’t get me wrong - what he did was the right thing. A lot of people think it was the right thing.

But he is supposed to land it softly and he crashed it. Having crashed it, he still denied he crashed it until it clearly became so bleeding obvious that he did what he did yesterday.

The cuts that weren't coming until next year are here now. You only do what he did because you overcooked it in the first place.

Brad Olsen of Infometrics was wrong, but he was wrong for the right reasons. He said heads should roll and on that he is spot on.

You don’t run a commentary that says one thing then do another. Their defence will be "things change", but that has always been the Orr weak point. He likes to position himself as some sort of completely removed observer, devoid of any influence in the economy at all.

"Things have come to a grinding halt? How did that happen?"

Last time he talked he saw one thing and told us how it was going to play out. He was wrong.

But to the Olsen point, and indeed my point, was - aren't we supposed to believe him?

When non-tradeable inflation is 5.4%, is that the same as 0-3%? No, it isn't.

When unemployment is 4.6% and not 5.5%, has that metric fallen to where it is supposed to have? No, it hasn’t.

But that doesn’t matter now, apparently.

"Forget everything I said, I've decided to cut." That's how the Governor plays it.

The inescapable truth is he cocked it up. He tried to right it, overcorrected, pretended he didn’t until it was too late, the rhetoric didn’t match the reality, and we got to yesterday.

The result? We'll take it.

The quality of the journey? Bollocks.

The great crime out of Adrian Orr's move is you can't trust him. 
A central bank is supposed to get the economy and he and his committee clearly don’t. 
Don’t get me wrong - what he did was the right thing. A lot of people think it was the right thing. 
But he is supposed to land it softly and he crashed it. Having crashed it, he still denied he crashed it until it clearly became so bleeding obvious that he did what he did yesterday. 
The cuts that weren't coming until next year are here now. You only do what he did because you overcooked it in the first place. 
Brad Olsen of Infometrics was wrong, but he was wrong for the right reasons. He said heads should roll and on that he is spot on. 
You don’t run a commentary that says one thing then do another. Their defence will be "things change", but that has always been the Orr weak point. He likes to position himself as some sort of completely removed observer, devoid of any influence in the economy at all. 
"Things have come to a grinding halt? How did that happen?" 
Last time he talked he saw one thing and told us how it was going to play out. He was wrong. 
But to the Olsen point, and indeed my point, was - aren't we supposed to believe him? 
When non-tradeable inflation is 5.4%, is that the same as 0-3%? No, it isn't. 
When unemployment is 4.6% and not 5.5%, has that metric fallen to where it is supposed to have? No, it hasn’t. 
But that doesn’t matter now, apparently. 
"Forget everything I said, I've decided to cut." That's how the Governor plays it. 
The inescapable truth is he cocked it up. He tried to right it, overcorrected, pretended he didn’t until it was too late, the rhetoric didn’t match the reality, and we got to yesterday. 
The result? We'll take it. 
The quality of the journey? Bollocks.

Mike's Minute: You can't trust Adrian Orr

Supercars is back this weekend, wheels hitting the tracks in Tasmania.

Kiwi driver Matt Payne is coming off a successful run, doing no worse than 4th in all of them, and making it to the top of the podium in the second Townsville race.

He joined Mike Hosking ahead of this weekend’s race, telling him that hopefully they can continue that success and finish the year out strong.

Payne admitted that the track in Tasmania isn’t his favourite, preferring slightly longer tracks, but he’s really looking forward to the weekend and aiming to flip last year’s results around to a positive note.

LISTEN ABOVE

Supercars is back this weekend, wheels hitting the tracks in Tasmania. 
Kiwi driver Matt Payne is coming off a successful run, doing no worse than 4th in all of them, and making it to the top of the podium in the second Townsville race. 
He joined Mike Hosking ahead of this weekend’s race, telling him that hopefully they can continue that success and finish the year out strong. 
Payne admitted that the track in Tasmania isn’t his favourite, preferring slightly longer tracks, but he’s really looking forward to the weekend and aiming to flip last year’s results around to a positive note. 
LISTEN ABOVE

Matt Payne: Kiwi Supercars driver ahead of the race in Tasmania

The demand for electric vehicles has continued its decline. 

Last year importers across the country were scrambling to meet demand, and Auckland City Electric Vehicles was awaiting one of their largest shipments. 

Since the axing of the clean car discount, BMI Research figures suggest that the total decline in EV sales will fall by nearly 11 thousand vehicles this year.  

Auckland City Electric Vehicles CEO Greg Larsen told Mike Hosking that every manufacturer is going down the EV track, and he thinks they may have gone too fast. 

LISTEN ABOVE

The demand for electric vehicles has continued its decline.  
Last year importers across the country were scrambling to meet demand, and Auckland City Electric Vehicles was awaiting one of their largest shipments.  
Since the axing of the clean car discount, BMI Research figures suggest that the total decline in EV sales will fall by nearly 11 thousand vehicles this year.   
Auckland City Electric Vehicles CEO Greg Larsen told Mike Hosking that every manufacturer is going down the EV track, and he thinks they may have gone too fast.  
LISTEN ABOVE

Rod Liddle: UK Correspondent on the high inactivity number in the UK, with 9.41 million people out of work

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