Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The Government's plan to secure our recovery has been reflected in New Zealanders' perceptions of the jobs market. Last week, the quarterly Westpac McDermott Miller Employment Index rose 1.8 points to 105.7 in September, as people felt optimistic about their job prospects despite the lockdown. Confidence was mixed across the country, though, with a solid gain in Auckland and Northland and some declines in more tourism-heavy regions such as Nelson, Marlborough, and the West Coast. Perceptions of current job opportunities rose strongly, with the balance of households now seeing jobs as plentiful. Westpac notes that this survey question has tended to be a useful leading indicator of unemployment, and supports its view that unemployment will actually drop below 4 percent in the coming quarters.