Canterbury Mornings

New projections from Treasury show that the unemployment rate can be kept under 10 per cent if the Government comes to the table with extra financial support to help the country weather the fall out of Covid-19.Without new support measures, however, the Treasury is predicting the unemployment rate in New Zealand could reach as high as 13.5 per cent if the lockdown remains at four weeks.If the lockdown were to be extended, that figure could reach between 17.5 and 26 per cent.Finance Minister Grant Robertson said that under the scenario where New Zealand stays at level 4 for the planned four weeks, and the Government provides extra support to businesses, the unemployment rate can return to 5 per cent by 2021."These should not be taken as any guide as to the Government's thinking or decision on changing alert levels," Robertson said in a statement this morning."That decision will be taken on April 20 as the Prime Minister has foreshadowed."But he said the economic scenarios released by Treasury today show the Go